Marie-claude st-laurent biography of albert

Still Life

“Our society suffers from generalized anxiety. And there are twice as many women as men who develop anxiety disorders. We wanted to find out why.”
Marie-Ève Milot

About the Show

Playwright/creators: Marie-Ève Milot & Marie-Claude St-Laurent(Théâtre de l’Affamée)

Translator: Rhiannon Collett

Severely shaken by a panic attack on her birthday, the writer is bewildered as to the cause—she seems afraid of fear itself! She tests herself as a live nude model and as a clinical subject for stress—but both bring on panic attacks.

The-30-Year-Old finds inspiration in the self-portraits Nidaa Badwan took, shut up in a Gazan flat. The-30-Year-Old envies the freedom the photographer found in nine square meters. She vows to leave her apartment only when the time is right. But her dark apartment betrays her every move. She feels like a rat in a maze.

A candid look at anxiety, this feminist play criticizes performance-oriented culture. Still Life illustrates how society responds when one falls short of the accomplishments expected at life’s first major milestone. It proposes that art can heal the past and provide future hope.

The Friday, January 19th performance will be followed by a talkback with Christina Opolko.

Cast & Creative Team

Program

About Talisman Theatre

Talisman Theatre has a vibrant, living mission: to produce English-language premieres of Quebec plays in translation. Talisman was founded in 2006 by Lyne Paquette, and Emma Tibaldo. Paquette has been Talisman’s Artistic and Executive Director since 2009.

Talisman productions have won many awards: Down Dangerous Passes Road (2008) and The Flood Thereafter (2010) won ‘Best English Production’ awards from AQCT; The Medea Effect (2012) won ‘Best Translation’ and ‘Best Female Actor’ METAs; The Aeneid (2013) won the ‘Best Independent Production’ META; and Clean Slate (2019) won the ‘Best Ensemble’ META.

Talisman Theatre has received multi-year funding from CAM, CALQ and CCA as well as, nine CCA translation grants. Private funding has been obtained from the Cole Foundation, Power Corporation, The Foundation of Greater Montreal, TD Bank, the E.T. Webster Foundation, and from numerous private donors.

This project is funded by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and Conseil des arts de Montréal.

The Wildside Festival’s creative residency at Centaur Theatre, allows Talisman to explore and experiment with the audience-stage relationship, and is an invaluable tool in the evolution of the production.