Montreal, Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Thank you for inviting my husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I to a place that has given us so much joy.

Because the theatre itself is pure joy.

It is also a kind of forum for debate.

A debate between all those who create the performance.

A debate between the players and the audience, who find themselves face to face for a brief moment, captured in time and space.

And to take place, the theatre needs a space in which to be held.

To do well, it needs versatile scenes to reach its audience.

All of this ensures the longevity of our means of expression and the vitality of a citizen dialogue that has been joyously celebrated by theatre since it began.

This place, this space we are in, meets that demand.

A place for exploration, research and creation, Usine C is one of the places where the French culture converges in the Americas, a culture that will celebrate its 400th anniversary next year.

Tonight, I honour Usine C, its co-founder, its artists, its partners and its audience.

In the words of Bernard Dort, the theatre is a happy utopia, which is more eloquent way of referring to the pure joy I spoke of earlier.

That is to say, a place where various artistic approaches and world views co-exist in harmony.

How lucky we are to be here, in a place where anything is possible, to welcome one of Usine C’s most inspired creators.

It was Peter Brook who said that the theatre is like writing on a chalkboard that can always be erased.

However, what cannot be erased is Mr. Brook’s firm belief that our everyday language is not necessarily the language of invention but that of our own alienation.

Those are your words. Unsettling, yes, but fair: creation as a way, a means, of defeating our alienation.

Tonight’s performance will be a powerful argument in favour of the necessity and responsibility we all have to make culture a priority in our lives.

Because it is through culture that we are called to better ourselves and to allow ourselves more freedom.

Thank you.