Michel TREMBLAY

Michel Tremblay has been a dominant figure of Québec’s theatre scene since the end of the ’60s. He has created works of impressive quantity and quality, as a dramatist, novelist, translator, adapter and screenwriter: 26 plays, 3 musicals, 12 novels, 1 collection of tales, 4 collections of short stories, 7 screenplays, 23 translations or adaptations of foreign plays, 1 libretto and the lyrics for some 12 songs. All of them published. Several of Tremblay’s plays have been praised in Canada, in the United States and just about everywhere in Europe. His name appears in the Larousse and Robert dictionaries, in the Who’s Who encyclopaedia and in the Dictionary of International Biography. Michel Tremblay has been a grant holder six times of the Canada Council for the Arts, and received more than 50 awards throughout his career.
(Photo : Monic Richard) – 9/06

 
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Titles in alphabetical order
Albertine in Five Times Albertine in Five Times Assorted Candies for the Theatre Bonjour, là, bonjour (English version) Damnée Manon, Sacrée Sandra (English translation) For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again Forever Yours, Marie-Lou Hosanna (English translation) Impromptu on Nuns' Island La Duchesse of Langeais La Maison Suspendue (English translation) Les Belles-Sœurs (English translation) Like Death Warmed Over Marcel Pursued by the Hounds Past Perfect Remember me Sainte-Carmen of the Main Solemn Mass for a Full Summer Moon Surprise! Surprise! (en anglais) The Driving Force The Impromptu of Outremont The Pedestals The Real World? Trois Petits Tours (Berthe, Johnny Mangano and his Astonishing Dogs et Gloria Star)
 
Assorted Candies for the Theatre More about the publication
  English translation by Linda Gaboriau. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 2006.
  Original title: Bonbons assortis au théâtre (Leméac Éditeur, 2006; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006). , stage adaptation of Michel Tremblay's fourth book of autobiographical sketches, Assorted Candies
Running time
  2 hours
Cast
  4 W, 3 M
Synopsis
  Six-year-old Michel from under the family kitchen table sees everything from the knees down but hears everything from the heart up; all the stories, arguments, gossip, philosophy, jokes and wisdom that spill from the lives of the five women and one man who are the seminal influences in his young life.
Excerpt
  « NANA : A dollar! You dare come ask me for a dollar to buy twenty Chinese kids a few days before Christmas! Do you realize what a dollar means to us? Do you? Do the brothers and the sisters realize what it means to us? I can feed a household of twelve people with a dollar, Michel! I can produce a feast with a dollar! A wedding banquet! / THE NARRATOR : Don’t exaggerate! / NANA : You’d be surprised what I can do with one measly dollar, young man! There are days when it’s a miracle what shows up in your plate, for the price I paid! You can go see that teaching brother who smelled to high heaven at the last parent-teachers meeting, and tell him that your mother is going to feed her own children before she buys you some Chinese kids for Christmas, even if they’re on sale! »

 
The Driving Force More about the publication
  English translation by Linda Gaboriau. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 2004.
  Original title: L'impératif présent (Leméac Éditeur, octobre 2003; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006).
Running time
  1 hour 40
Cast
  2 M  More about the cast   More about the the suggested set
Synopsis
  Encounter between the son and the father of Le Vrai monde?. Thirty years have gone by. Alex is isolated in a deep silence. Claude visits him, takes care of him, washes him, and doesn’t stop talking to him. In the middle of these streaming words, in the trough of a wave of violence, on the brink of forgiveness, Claude will find the foundation of his writing. The son facing the father, the father facing the son. Each of them alone with his hatred in front of the one who never understood him.
Excerpt
  « CLAUDE : […] You dared go to her funeral, acting like a grief-stricken widower, after spending your life parctically laughing in her face (…) || ALEX : The loss! You never wanted to see how muck I adored her, despite my shortcomings, may faults, and I could feel you fuming there beside me because I dared cry at her funeral. »

 
Past Perfect More about the publication
  English translation by Linda Gaboriau. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 2004.
  Original title: Le passé antérieur (Leméac Éditeur, 2003; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006).
First production
  Centaur Theatre (Montreal), January 29, 2004
Running time
  1 hour 40
Cast
  3 W, 2 M
Synopsis
  Albertine sets out to re-conquer the beau she has lost to her younger sister. In the eyes of her family members, Albertine, (a character portrayed in Albertine, in Five Times) is a soul on fire that devours everything she touches. But in her own eyes, Albertine is sensitive, selfless, and devoted to the objects of her desires. Caught in this dilemma, Albertine, who has cast herself as a sacrificial lamb, a victim of destiny, the queen of unhappiness, descends into a hell of lucidity as she confronts Alex, the great hope and passion of her youth.
Excerpt
  « ALBERTINE : He wasn't satisfied with casting me off like a pair of old boots, he decided to chase after my sister! To hurt me even more! He knew I'd see him when he came calling for you, that I'd hear him talking loud, laughing, that I'd smell his after-shave that would linger in the house after the two of you left... You silly girl, sometimes you're so naïve... He's using you so he can go on pissing me off! »
Press review
  "Michel Tremblay strikes gold again." Matt Radz, the Montreal Gazette"
« Iconic Tremblay gets a breathtaking Tarragon production / Demanding, overdramatic, narcissistic and suffocating, the Albertine of Past Perfect is a woman only a mother or Michel Tremblay could love. Strictly speaking, Tremblay is Albertine's mother. He has given life to her many fictional and theatrical existences in his repertoire for nearly 40 years now, making her one of the most iconic creations in his personal mythology of Montreal and of Canadian dramatic literature.» Kamal Al-Solaylee, The Globe and Mail, Toronto, March 2, 2006

 
Impromptu on Nuns' Island More about the publication
  English translation by Linda Gaboriau. Published by Talonbooks, 2002.
  Original title: L'état des lieux (Leméac Éditeur, 2002; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006).
First production
  Centaur Theatre Company, Montreal and Tarragon Theatre, Toronto, October 24, 2002
Running time
  2 hours
Cast
  3 W, 1 M
Synopsis
  An opera diva, Patricia, meets her Waterloo singing Salomé at the Opéra Bastille in Paris. In an impromptu get-together in her Nuns' Island penthouse, on the afternoon of her return from Europe, her mother, a popular Montreal stage and television actress, and her idealistic committed-to-new-work daughter goad her. They challenge the sense of an international career if your art doesn't contribute to change, or at least to wide-spread pleasure and inspiration, in the society you live in?
Excerpt
  « PATRICIA : It's impossible to like it here, it's too small! Do you realize how small it is here, Michelle? Do you? Look out the window, look across the river… It looks like a big city, there's lots of big buildings, lots of noise and pollution! But you only realize how small it is once you manage to get away! »

 
For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again More about the publication
  English translation by Linda Gaboriau. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1998.
  Original title: Encore une fois, si vous permettez (Leméac Éditeur, 1998; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006).
First production
  Centaur Theatre Company (Montreal), October 1, 1998
Running time
  1 hour 30
Cast
  1 W, 1 M
Synopsis
  For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again is the playwright’s homage to his colourful, down to earth mother who nurtured his imagination, his reclusive reading habits and his love for the theatre and the arts. In a compelling balance of humour and poignancy, Tremblay offers glimpses of himself and his mother at five different stages of their lives together. To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the spectacular success of Tremblay’s first play, Les Belles Sœurs, this play was produced back-to-back, in French then in English, in the playwright’s home town of Montreal. These anniversary celebrations were hailed as the theatre event of the season.
Excerpt
  « NARRATOR : Need I say that the threat of Reform School hung over my entire childhood? (NANA reenters.) / NANA : That's where they send stupid kids like you, the wiseguys, the tough guys, the hotheads, the birdbrains, the copycats, and they shave their heads and stick them in a pair of pyjamas made of burlap sacks and sentence them to hard labour! […] »
Press review
  "I can remember perhaps five performances in my life that have delighted me and moved me so much (...) The work zips along, breathing with the audience... a magnificently cathartic and beautifully staged theatrical moment." Gaëtan L. Charlebois, Hour, August 13-19, 1998.

 
Solemn Mass for a Full Summer Moon
  English translation by John Van Burek.
  Original title: Messe solennelle pour une pleine lune d'été (Leméac Éditeur, 1996; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006).
First production
  Barbican Centre (Londres), May 2000
Running time
  1 hour 30
Cast
  6 W, 5 M  More about the cast   More about the the suggested set
Synopsis
  A ritualistic incantation in which eleven characters search for the light at the end of the dark tunnel that their frustrating lives have become. Bitter, mean or indifferent, one by one, they vent their violence, their exasperation. They all long for liberation.
Excerpt
  « JEANNINE : Tonight, I feel like getting out my claws, to tear the sky, lacerate it, to rip out the moon like a kyste, to slice it open like a tumor! / LOUISE : Tonight, there's something else I don't understand… / JEANNINE : Tonight there's a pack of wild beasts trampling what little peace I could hope for! / LOUISE : Something that doesn't come from me, that's not in me… »
Press review
  "Michel Tremblay has written a risky, audacious play, a marked departure from his previous work. He has introduced new, contemporary characters to speak of the violence of a world bereft of desire. (...) The portrait of a society emotionally adrift, Messe solennelle speaks both of love and lack of love, of hope and of despair." Luc Boulanger, Voir, February 22, 1996.
Other translations
  Also available in Scots

 
Marcel Pursued by the Hounds More about the publication
  English translation by Bill Glassco and John Van Burek. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1992.
  Original title: Marcel poursuivi par les chiens (Leméac Éditeur, 1992; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006).
First production
  Co-produced by Pleiades Theatre and Factory Theatre, Toronto, March 11, 1997
Running time
  1 hour 40
Cast
  4 W, 1 M
Synopsis
  This play takes us back to the world of the first in Tremblay’s cycle of novels entitled Chronicles of Plateau Mont-Royal. The action takes place in 1953 and Marcel is 15 years old. His sister, Thérèse, has sunken into a morass of alcoholism and is married to a man who has no guts, no pride, and no job. Plagued by hallucinations, Marcel finds little solace in Thérèse’s world of cheap nightclubs on The Main. His imagination and, ultimately, madness will provide his only escape.
Excerpt
  « MARCEL : Will you take me back with you? Can we start again, like before? (THÉRÈSE rocks her brother.) / THÉRÈSE : Marcel, it scares me when you talk like that! Who are you talking to? »
Press review
  "Marcel Pursued by the Hounds (...) is a riveting, often terrifying, look at two tormented souls that readily suggests the cruel horrors that percolate through the Oresteia trilogy of Greek author Aeschylus, enscribed 2,500 years ago." Geoff Chapman, The Toronto Star, January 14, 1998.

 
La Maison Suspendue (English translation) More about the publication
  English translation by John Van Burek. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1990.
  Original title: La maison suspendue (Leméac Éditeur, 1990).
First production
  Canadian Stage, Toronto, November 30, 1990
Running time
  1 hour 30
Cast
  3 W, 5 M and 1 boy (playing the parts of 3 eleven year old children)
Synopsis
  Jean-Marc, his lover Mathieu, and Mathieu’s son, Sebastien, arrive at Jean-Marc’s family homestead in the Laurentians for summer vacation. The minute he opens the door, Jean-Marc starts to encounter some of the house’s former inhabitants. In 1910, Josaphat-le-violon and his sister Victoire must decide whether or not to move to the city; in 1950, Edouard and Albertine must choose to accept or reject the imaginary in their lives. Jean-Marc finally reconciles these traces of his family’s past with the reality of his present life and family.
Excerpt
  « JEAN-MARC : […] I bought all those memories to keep them from sinking into indifference. / MATHIEU, very softly : And to revive them? / JEAN-MARC : If nothing else, to help me try. One summer won't be enough… / MATHIEU : You sure you'll be able to spend two months here, alone? / JEAN-MARC : Nope. »
Press review
  In covering the hugely successful production of La maison suspendue (House among the Stars) at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, a Globe and Mail correspondent from Scotland reported: "There is even talk of a `Tremblay phenomenom.’The Herald (Glasgow) describes House among the Stars as a play `which speaks intimately to the Scottish soul.’ The Guardian has written of ‘the best playwright Scotland never had.’ Carl Honoré, The Globe and Mail, Toronto, October 31, 1992.

 
The Real World? More about the publication
  English translation by Bill Glassco and John Van Burek. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1988.
  Original title: Le vrai monde? (Leméac Éditeur, 1987; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991).
First production
  Tarragon Theatre, Toronto, May 24, 1988
Running time
  2 hours
Cast
  4 W, 3 M
Synopsis
  A young playwright faces a tough question : does the play he has written contain a fair representation of his family, or a false one? The audience gets a chance to judge for themselves, since both families appear on stage throughout. In Tremblay’s words," ... I decided to return to the very source of creative work, that notorious first play which supposedly contains the seeds of everything yet to come. And ultimately, I found myself confronted with the fundamental question : did I have the right? Do I still have the right?..."
Excerpt
  « CLAUDE : Even if I act in good faith? / MADELEINE I : You can't act in good faith. Because you're not us… / CLAUDE : That's where you're wrong, Mama… Listen… Will you listen to me? (MADELEINE I sits next to CLAUDE.) It's always been very easy for me… to slip inside other people. To… feel them. I've always done that. The rest of you call it spying… I call it living. »
Press review
  "Tremblay’s strength lies in his depiction of the ambiguities of family ties, the resigned compromises, grudging understandings, the modi vivendi tacitly arrived at, often to the angry amazement of outsiders." Martin Hoyle, Financial Times, London, February 19, 1990.
Other translations
  Also available in Russian

 
Albertine in Five Times More about the publication
  English translation by Bill Glassco and John Van Burek. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1986.
  Original title: Albertine, en cinq temps (Leméac Éditeur, 1984; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991).
First production
  Tarragon Theatre (Toronto), 1986
Running time
  1 hour 30
Cast
  6 W
Synopsis
  A seventy year old woman from a working class district of Montreal reassesses the major turning points of her life, all marked by failure and disappointment. Five actresses play the part of Albertine in five different decades of her life, between the ages of 30 and 70. All five Albertines are present on stage, at times unaware of each other and at other times interacting and dialoguing with each other, and with Madeleine, Albertine’s sister, whose life has been very different.
Excerpt
  « MADELEINE : You don't have to tell me... / ALBERTINE AT 70 : It's so difficult! / ALBERTINE AT 30 : You'd think we were alone in the world, just the two of us… / ALBERTINE AT 70 : It's so dark all of a sudden… / ALBERTINE AT 60 : Makes you want to whisper… / ALBERTINE AT 40 : No, makes you want to destroy everything! »
Press review
  "Take the stark grandeur and noble tragedy of a greek chorus, the psychological intimacy of a Shakespearian soliloquy, and the modern shattering of time and space in order to portray a deeper reality, hand them over to Michel Tremblay, and the result is Albertine, en cinq temps." Aurèle Parisien, Hour, October 1995.
"The structure is so ingenious and the idea behind it so rich with both dramatic and philosophical possibilities that we are inevitably drawn into a life story that is both painful and hopeless." Cathryn O’Neill, The Herald, Glasgow, February 7, 1998.
Other translations
  Also available in Spanish for Mexico, Scots, Spanish for Chili, Spanish for Venezuela, Catalan, Spanish, German

 
Albertine in Five Times More about the publication
  English translation by Linda Gaboriau. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 2009.
  Original title: Albertine, en cinq temps (Leméac Éditeur, 1984; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991).
Running time
  1 hour 45
Cast
  6 W
Other translations
  Also available in Spanish for Mexico, Scots, Spanish for Chili, Spanish for Venezuela, Catalan, Spanish, German

 
Remember me More about the publication
  English translation by John Stuart Stowe. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1984.
  Original title: Les anciennes odeurs (Leméac Éditeur, 1981; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991).
First production
  Manitoba Theatre Centre, Winnipeg, January 11, 1984
Running time
  1 h 30
Cast
  2 M
Synopsis
  A young actor, whose father is dying of a terminal illness, visits his former lover. The attendant crisis prompts them to examine and come to terms with their love, both past and present.
Excerpt
  « LUC, softly : I admire you, Jean-Marc, but if you're determined to prove your mediocrity to me, I'm afraid you might succeed, though I'm gonna do everything I can to prevent it, because I don't believe it's true. »

 
The Impromptu of Outremont More about the publication
  English translation by John Van Burek. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1981.
  Original title: L'impromptu d'Outremont (Leméac Éditeur, 1980).
First production
  Arts Club Theatre (Vancouver), 1980
Running time
  1 hour 45
Cast
  4 W
Synopsis
  One sister’s birthday party becomes one of the rare occasions where four sisters from one of Montreal’s "better" French-speaking districts must spend the evening together. Conflict is inevitable and their many differences and disappointments, with each other and themselves, are forced out into the open. This is comedy of manners, a bourgeois drama in which the characters embody contrasting views on just about everything, including culture and the theatre.
Excerpt
  « FERNANDE : There's more of Outremont left in you than I realised. / LORRAINE, ironically : Indeed, the peasant woman and the femme du monde are locked in mortal combat… / FERNANDE : Judging from your behaviour, the former has it, hands down. / LORRAINE : I should hope so! »
Press review
  "Michel Tremblay’s L’impromptu d’Outremont is a four-part etude on the subject of culture that explodes - mostly in laughter - like atoms in a nuclear reactor." Maureen Peterson, The Gazette, Montreal, April 17, 1980.
Other translations
  Also available in German

 
Damnée Manon, Sacrée Sandra (English translation) More about the publication
  English translation by John Van Burek. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1981.
  Original title: Damnée Manon, sacrée Sandra (suivi de Surprise! Surprise!, Leméac Éditeur, 1977; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991).
First production
  The Arts Club Theatre (Vancouver), April 19, 1979
Running time
  1 hour 30
Cast
  1 W, 1 M
Synopsis
  In Damnée Manon, Sacrée Sandra, Michel Tremblay examines the sacred and the profane – their similarities and differences, how they can merge and become one another. The play consists of two interwoven monologues on religion and sex, spoken by Manon (from Forever Yours, Marie-Lou) and Sandra (from Hosanna). With Damnée Manon, Sacrée Sandra, Tremblay announced the end of his eleven-play cycle. At the play’s climax Sandra and Manon realize that they have been "invented" by the author...
Excerpt
  « MANON : And I've discovered on my own, it's true that God exists. / SANDRA : I really can't think of anything but fucking to keep me alive. »
Press review
  "If one can judge from the superb quality and blazing intensity of the emotional outpourings in Damnée Manon, sacrée Sandra (...), then Michel Tremblay ought to perhaps reconsider his decision [to end this eleven-play cycle]. The playwright’s purpose is to show there are two persons existing within a body. Good and evil, love and hate, religious and sexual ecstasies...so close as to be one and the same" Lawrence Sabbath, The Montreal Star, February 25, 1977.

 
Sainte-Carmen of the Main More about the publication
  English translation by John Van Burek. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1981.
  Original title: Sainte Carmen de la Main (Leméac Éditeur, 1976; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991).
First production
  Tarragon Theatre (Toronto), January 14, 1978
Running time
  2 hours
Cast
  4 W, 3 M and a chorus of 12 persons (6 W, 6 M)
Synopsis
  A chorus of whores and hustlers from St. Lawrence Blvd. in Montreal, known as the "Main" welcomes Carmen home from her sojourn in Nashville. Her plan to write and sing her own Country & Western songs in French is violently vetoed by the bar owners and their lackeys. Fashioned after a Greek tragedy, the play is a parable where autonomy and cultural identity collide head-on with opportunism and oppression.
Excerpt
  « ROSE BEEF : I hear she's written all new songs. / HARELIP : That's what she told me. / SANDRA : But she'll still sing the old hits… / HARELIP : Probably. She didn't say. / SANDRA AND ROSE BEEF : The word's out that… tonight… will be a big night. / HARELIP : Yes. Tonight will be a big night! / HARELIP, SANDRA AND ROSE BEEF : It's like I'm preparing to die from love! »
Press review
  "Michel Tremblay has steeled his courage and done that which lesser writers dare not do: written a classical tragedy. (...) It is an absolutely fascinating gesture by a powerful playwright who, in his own personal hubris, is attempting to write a successful tragedy where writers of the stature of T.S. Eliot who attempted the same thing have managed at best mixed results. With St. Carmen, Tremblay too has had mixed results. But that, considering the odds, is a formidable accomplishment." Ray Conlogue, The Globe and Mail, Toronto, January 16, 1978.

 
Bonjour, là, bonjour (English version) More about the publication
  English translation by Bill Glassco and John Van Burek. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1975; version révisée en 1986.
  Original title: Bonjour, là, bonjour (Leméac Éditeur, 1974; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991).
First production
  Tarragon Theatre (Toronto), February 1, 1975
Running time
  1 hour 30
Cast
  6 W, 2 M
Synopsis
  After a three-month absence, Serge returns home to the whining, nagging, defeated voices of his hypochondriacal aunts, his three chronically dissatisfied older sisters and his deaf father, Gabriel. Serge, however, has reached a crucial decision : that he and Nicole, his youngest sister, should live their incestuous relationship openly. In an unexpected moment of reconciliation, Serge is able to tell his father how much he loves him and suggests that Gabriel come live with him and Nicole, leaving hypocrisy and bitterness behind. Inspired by musical structures, the play interweaves the family’s voices in duos, trios and other vocal combinations.
Excerpt
  « ARMAND : Maybe you don't know it, Serge, but that afternoon you gave me the most beautiful present… / CHARLOTTE : I'll leave her there to die. / ARMAND : You don't remember what you did? / CHARLOTTE : Too bad for her. / ARMAND : Ncole had just bought that new stereo... / GILBERTE : It's like the commercials... / ARMAND : ...and you took me into the parlour, and you sat me down in my chair… / GILBERTE : They try to make us believe all kinds of nonsense... / ARMAND : ...and you said... / GILBERTE : They think we're stupid... / ARMAND : "Listento this, Papa!" / GILBERTE : They can't fool me. I know it's all lies... / ARMAND : Then you put on a record... »
Press review
  "(...) a rewarding, disturbing evening, cleverly displaying the case history of one of drama’s stranger families." Clive Barnes, The New York Post, October, 1980.
"This is a close family of uncomfortable, even dangerous, relationships. Tremblay makes their crises simultaneously ordinary, universal (sex, class and language all make themselves felt) and shattering on the scale of Greek tragedy. His dialogue is scalpel-sharp, setting up painful conflicts quickly and often with pungent humour." Jon Kaplan, Now, Toronto, August 20, 1992.

 
Surprise! Surprise! More about the publication
  English translation by John Van Burek. Published by in La Duchesse de Langeais & Other Plays, Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1976.
  Original title: Surprise! Surprise! (précédé de Damnée Manon, sacrée Sandra, Leméac Éditeur, 1977; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006).
First production
  St. Lawrence Centre (Toronto), October 30, 1975
Running time
  45 minutes
Cast
  3 W
Synopsis
  A surprise party organized by phone turns into a headache when the wrong Madeleine is invited to the birthday celebration. Not only is she not the birthday girl, she’s the "right" Madeleine’s sworn enemy!
Excerpt
  « JEANNINE : Well, today is her birthday. We're not going to wait till Easter! / LAURETTE : That's not what I mean. Can't we wait till the weekend? That'd give us time to get ready. / JEANNINE : No, no, if we don't do it today, it doesn't count… And we've made it for suppertime 'cause the girls like to go to bed early… »
Press review
  "Even more than the comic qualities, the musicality and the pacing of this text are fascinating." Luc Boulanger, Voir, October 28, 1993.

 
Hosanna (English translation) More about the publication
  English translation by Bill Glassco and John Van Burek. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1974.
  Original title: Hosanna (suivi de La duchesse de Langeais, Éditions Leméac, 1973; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991).
First production
  Tarragon Theatre (Toronto), May 15, 1974
Running time
  1 hour 30
Cast
  2 M
Synopsis
  When Hosanna, resplendent as Elizabeth Taylor in "Cleopatra", is humiliated by his erstwhile friends at a local drag show, a night of anger and self-discovery begins. After a wounding argument with his leather-clad lover, Cuirette, Hosanna is left alone to face, for the first time, the contradictions of his own life. When Cuirette returns, Hosanna rejects the illusions of his fantasy world in favour of a real life, simply lived.
Excerpt
  « HOSANNA : I said what do you know about whores? Did you ever get close enough to smell one? / CUIRETTE : Big Pauline-de-Joliette smelled like that. I dumped her, remember? Never went near her again. She made me want to puke. / HOSANNA : Poor baby. She must have cried her eyes out for a whole thirty seconds. By the way, what was her real name? Wasn't it Paul? »
Press review
  "What is interesting about this play, apart from the adroitness of its construction, is the quality of its writing, which reveals real wit and insight." Clive Barnes, The New York Times, October 15, 1974.

 
Forever Yours, Marie-Lou More about the publication
  English translation by Bill Glassco and John Van Burek. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1975.
  Original title: À toi, pour toujours, ta Marie-Lou (Leméac Éditeur, 1971; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991).
First production
  Tarragon Theatre (Toronto), November 4, 1972
Running time
  1 hour 30
Cast
  3 W, 1 M
Synopsis
  Also translated into Catalan, Danish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Polish and Scots. Also available in another English (for England) version. In 1971, Carmen returns home to convince Manon, her sister, to end ten years of mourning the death of their parents. Past and present intermingle as the two daughters struggle to reconcile their visions of the past, and the parents, Marie-Lou and Léopold, enact the events preceding their fatal car crash. Carmen finally chooses life in a Country & Western bar, leaving Manon to keep vigil for a troubled Québec family best left behind.
Excerpt
  « MARIE-LOUISE : […] And you hurt me, you bastard. You hurt like hell. I wanted to scream, but no, my mother told me, shut up and grit your teeth. […] I said to myself, if that's what sex is, never again. Never! »
Press review
  "First produced in 1971, À toi pour toujours, ta Marie-Lou is perhaps the most emblematic of all Tremblay’s plays. A tragedy, written in fierce dialogue, decrying loneliness, poverty, ignorance and fear of the unknown, it portrays a society at a crossroads, torn between apathetic self-pity and the lucidity that precedes a taking charge of one’s destiny." Marie Labrecque, Voir, September 5, 1996.

 
Trois Petits Tours (Berthe, Johnny Mangano and his Astonishing Dogs et Gloria Star) More about the publication
  English translation by John Van Burek. Published by in La Duchesse de Langeais & Other Plays, Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1976.
  Original title: Trois petits tours (Leméac Éditeur, 1972; 1986).
Running time
  1 hour 30
Cast
  8 W, 4 M
Synopsis
  The play shows three views of life at the seedy, but glitzy, Coconut Inn. In the box office, the ticket seller, Berthe, dreams of stardom American-style. In the dressing room, Carlotta and Johnny fight bitterly about their failed hopes, both personal and professional. Backstage, Gloria Star’s mysterious agent promises a sceptical stage manager the best show yet. A portrait of life behind the scenes, where disillusionment is the order of the day.
Excerpt
  « CARLOTTA : Speak French when you talk to me! You know I don't understand English and I don't want to understand it! / JOHNNY, grabbing her wrist : Hey! I'll talk to you in whatever language I like and you're gonna understand, okay? You're starting to get on my nerves! Now you'll get this through your head, even if I say it in Chinese! Who's boss around here? / CARLOTTA, pulling away : The dogs! »

 
La Duchesse of Langeais More about the publication
  English translation by John Van Burek. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1991.
  Original title: La duchesse de Langeais (précédé de Hosanna, Leméac Éditeur, 1973; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991).
First production
  Arts Club Theatre, Vancouver, May 15, 1991
Running time
  1 hour
Cast
  1 M
Synopsis
  On holiday in a sunny clime, an aging drag queen drunkenly recounts the many successes, and the single important failure, of his chequered career. As one critic put it : "...the Duchesse de Langeais embodies, in his own extreme way, the alienation of the Québec male."
Excerpt
  « LA DUCHESSE : […] That sun is like Chinese torture!… That's alright, it's good for you. You'll be all tanned and beautiful. (She wipes her face.) That's not true, Cinderella, 'cause all you ever do in the sun is turn red as a lobster. Oh, a lobster! Mon Dieu! That's masculin! Am I gonna start referring to myself in the masculin! Quelle horreur! Of course, there must be lady lobsters, but still… […] »
Press review
  "Of all the transvestites created by Michel Tremblay, the Duchess of Langeais is the most tragic." Luc Boulanger, Voir, June 27, 1996.

 
The Pedestals
  English translation by Renate Usmiani. Published by Canadian Theatre Review, automne 1979.
  Original title: Les Socles (Canadian Theatre Review, automne 1979, p. 58-60).
Running time
  15 minutes
Cast
  5 W, 5 M
Synopsis
  This short, allegorical play offers a concise comment on family life, politics and the human condition. Dominating parents are literally placed on pedestals while their children struggle to escape their influence.
Excerpt
  « FATHER AND MOTHER : Outside of us, there is nothing. Nothing exists. The world is nothingness. We are lone. And we have wish it thus. We have wished to be the world, and we are the world. […] »

 
Like Death Warmed Over
  English translation by Alan Van Meer. Published by as En Pièces Détachées, Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1975.
  Original title: En pièces détachées (suivi de La duchesse de Langeais, Leméac Éditeur, 1970; version pour la télévision [1969], Leméac Éditeur, 1982; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006).
First production
  Manitoba Theatre Centre, Winnipeg, January 17, 1973
Running time
  2 hours
Cast
  10 W, 7 M and a chorus of 9 W or more
Synopsis
  Under the harsh comments of their neighbours, life goes on for the members of a working class family on the Plateau district. We have more than a peek at them, at Nick's restaurant, at the Coconut Inn bar and in the living room of their stifling nest. Will they escape? Will they begin to breathe at last?
Excerpt
  « MME. L'HEUREUX : She just shut the blinds... Joseph, the nut across the yard just went an'shut her venetian blinds again... / MME. GINGRAS : Gettin'all set for another battle royal, sure as anything... (The women all shift themselves so as to get a better view. An unhealthy curiosity is legible on each face.) / ALL THE WOMEN : (Very slowly) Gettin'all set for another battle royal, sure as anything... »

 
Les Belles-Sœurs (English translation) More about the publication
  English translation by Bill Glassco and John Van Burek. Published by Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1974; traduction révisée, 1992.
  Original title: Les belles-sœurs (Collection Théâtre vivant, n° 6, CEAD, 1968, épuisé; Leméac Éditeur, 1972; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991).
Running time
  1 hour 45
Cast
  15 W
Synopsis
  When Germaine Lauzon throws a party to get some help pasting her newly-won savings stamps into books, she unwittingly unleashes a flood of frustration from other women in the neighbourhood. This social and political satire is driven home with vicious and bawdy humour.
Excerpt
  « LINDA : That's a lot of stamps to glue. Four boxes! One million stamps, that's no joke! / GERMAINE : There's only three boxes. The other one's booklets. But I had an idea, Linda. […] I'm gonna give a stamp-pasting party. Isn't that a great idea? I bought some peanuts, and your little brother went out to get some Coke… »
Press review
  "Tremblay’s Les belles-sœurs is on all counts a masterpiece (...) This play cannot be missed, buy a ticket at any cost and...hang on to your seat!" Jean Basile, Le Devoir, August 30, 1968.
Reviewing a revival of the play at the Stratford Festival in 1991, another critic commented : "Tremblay combines naturalism with the choral asides which sum up, focus and carry forward the play. If the details of social hypocrisy and oppression are parochial, the broad themes are not, and the play remains as fresh now as then." Terry Doran, Buffalo News, June 5, 1991.
Other translations
  Also available in Italian, Scots, Polish, Yiddish, German

 
PLAYS AVAILABLE AT CEAD (Some notes in French may appear below)
  Le paradis à la fin de vos jours [2008] (Leméac Éditeur, 2008)
Bonbons assortis au théâtre [2005] (Leméac Éditeur, 2006; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006)
L'impératif présent [2002b] (Leméac Éditeur, octobre 2003; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006)
Le passé antérieur [2002] (Leméac Éditeur, 2003; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006)
L'état des lieux [2001] (Leméac Éditeur, 2002; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006)
Encore une fois, si vous permettez [1998] (Leméac Éditeur, 1998; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006)
Éloge de la gourmandise [1997] (in Les huit péchés capitaux (Éloges), Dramaturges éditeurs, 1997)
Les huit péchés capitaux (éloges) [1997] (Dramaturges Éditeurs, 1997), in collaboration with Michel Marc Bouchard, Normand Canac-Marquis, Jean-François Caron, René Richard Cyr, René-Daniel Dubois, Larry Tremblay, Lise Vaillancourt
Messe solennelle pour une pleine lune d'été [1995] (Leméac Éditeur, 1996; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006)
En circuit fermé [1994] (Leméac Éditeur, 1994; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006)
Marcel poursuivi par les chiens [1992] (Leméac Éditeur, 1992; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006)
Nelligan [1989-1990] (Leméac Éditeur, 1990)
La maison suspendue [1989] (Leméac Éditeur, 1990)
Le vrai monde? [1986] (Leméac Éditeur, 1987; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991)
L'impromptu des deux Presse [1985] (in 20 ans, CEAD / VLB Éditeur, 1985, disponible au CEAD)
Le gars de Québec [1985] (Leméac Éditeur, 1985)
Albertine, en cinq temps [1983] (Leméac Éditeur, 1984; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991)
Les anciennes odeurs [1981] (Leméac Éditeur, 1981; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991)
Les grandes vacances [1981], in collaboration with le Théâtre de l'Œil,
L'impromptu d'Outremont [1979] (Leméac Éditeur, 1980)
Damnée Manon, sacrée Sandra [1976] (suivi de Surprise! Surprise!, Leméac Éditeur, 1977; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991)
Les héros de mon enfance [1975] (Leméac Éditeur, 1976)
Sainte Carmen de la Main [1975] (Leméac Éditeur, 1976; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991)
Bonjour, là, bonjour [1974] (Leméac Éditeur, 1974; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991)
Surprise! Surprise! [1974] (précédé de Damnée Manon, sacrée Sandra, Leméac Éditeur, 1977; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006)
Hosanna [1971-1972] (suivi de La duchesse de Langeais, Éditions Leméac, 1973; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991)
Demain matin, Montréal m'attend [1970-1972] (Leméac Éditeur, 1972; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006)
À toi, pour toujours, ta Marie-Lou [1970] (Leméac Éditeur, 1971; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991)
Trois petits tours (Berthe, Johnny Mangano and his Astonishing Dogs etGloria Star) [1969] (Leméac Éditeur, 1972; 1986)
Lysistrata [1968-1969] (Leméac Éditeur, 1969), in collaboration with André Brassard,
La duchesse de Langeais [1968] (précédé de Hosanna, Leméac Éditeur, 1973; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991)
Les paons [1968]
Les socles [1967] (Canadian Theatre Review, automne 1979, p. 58-60)
En pièces détachées [1966 et 1969] (suivi de La duchesse de Langeais, Leméac Éditeur, 1970; version pour la télévision [1969], Leméac Éditeur, 1982; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006)
Les belles-sœurs [1965] (Collection Théâtre vivant, n° 6, CEAD, 1968, épuisé; Leméac Éditeur, 1972; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 9 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre 1, 1991)
Le train [1959] (Leméac Éditeur, 1990)
TRANSLATIONS AND ADAPTATIONS
  Visites à Monsieur Green [2005], translation of Visiting Mr. Green by Jeff Baron
Piège pour un homme seul [2002], adaptation of Piège pour un homme seul by Robert Thomas
Le spot idéal [2000], translation of The Perfect Pitch by John Godber
Mambo italiano [2000], translation of Mambo Italiano by Steve Galluccio
Rien à voir avec les rossignols [1999], translation of Not About Nightingales by Tennessee Williams
Grace et Gloria [1998], translation of Grace & Glorie by Thomas Ziegler
Hello from Bertha (dans Au pays du dragon) [1997], translation of Hello from Bertha by Tennessee Williams
J'peux pas imaginer demain (dans Au pays du dragon) [1997], translation of I Can't imagine Tomorrow by Tennessee Williams
La dame aux longs gants gris (dans Au pays du dragon) [1997], translation of The Lady of Larkspur Lotion by Tennessee Williams
Parle-moi comme la pluie pis laisse-moi écouter (dans Au pays du dragon) [1997], translation of Talk to me like the Rain and Let me Listen by Tennessee Williams
Picasso au Lapin agile [1997], translation of Picasso at the Lapin Agile by Steve Martin
Les leçons de Maria Callas [1996], translation of Master Class by Terrence McNally
L'ex-femme de ma vie [1994] by Michel Tremblay
Premières de classe [1992] (Leméac Éditeur, 1993), translation of Catholic School Girls by Casey Kurtti
Les trompettes de la mort [1991]
Camino Real [1990], translation of Camino Real by Tennessee Williams
Qui a peur de Virginia Woolf? [1987], translation of Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee
Six heures au plus tard [1986] (Leméac Éditeur, 1986), translation of Six heures au plus tard by Marc Perrier
Oncle Vania [1981] (Leméac Éditeur, 1983) by Anton Tchekhov
Mademoiselle Marguerite [1975] (Leméac Éditeur, 1975), adaptation of Aparaceu a Margarida by Roberto Athayde
Mistero buffo [1973] by Michel Tremblay
... Et mademoiselle Roberge boit un peu [1971] (Leméac Éditeur, 1971), translation of And Miss Reardon drinks a little by Paul Zindel
L'effet des rayons gamma sur les vieux-garçons [1970] (Leméac Éditeur, 1970), translation of The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel
 
PLAYS NOT YET TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH (Running time: 1 hour and more. Written and produced in French since 2000. Some notes in French may appear below)
  Le paradis à la fin de vos jours [2008]
Published by Leméac Éditeur, 2008.
First production in French: Théâtre du Rideau Vert, August 2008
Running time: 1 hour 20
Cast: 1 W
Nana, the playwright's mother often celebrated in the works of the author and the character of the final " assumption " of For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again is now in Paradise, at the right hand of God, the "central Nucleus" she has never seen by the way, and seated just between her mother-in-law and her own mother. Nana compares the Paradise she now knows to the naive idea some people wanted her to believe in while she was on Earth.

Bonbons assortis au théâtre [2005]
Published by Leméac Éditeur, 2006; Actes sud - Papiers/Leméac Éditeur, avec 10 autres pièces du même auteur, sous le titre Michel Tremblay, Théâtre II, 2006.
First production in French: Théâtre du Rideau Vert, March 2006
Running time: 2 hours
Cast: 3 W 3 M
Michel is six years old. Hidden under the kitchen table, he hears what the women of his family, Nana, Albertine and Victoire, are saying. When he comes out, he observes and questions. Tirelessly. These moments stolen from childhood, these stories of poverty, innocence or fear, he now tells as a narrator, through the prism of memory and imagination, like candy we unwrap while dreaming of the past.