MONTREAL – It’s one of the most beloved tales in Quebecois culture.
Belles Soeurs tells the story of a working-class Montreal housewife in the 60s, whose life turns upside down after she wins one million trading stamps.
She calls her friends and family over to her house on the Plateau but the gathering of 15 women eventually leads to gossip, jealously and betrayal.
Michel Tremblay’s original play was transformed into a musical in 2011 by René Richard Cyr and Daniel Bélanger.
On Thursday, the Segal Centre announced that they’ve received the rights for an anglophone adaptation.
“The fact that we’re going to do this now,” said Segal Centre managing director, Lisa Rubin.
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“And take this iconic Quebec story and bring it to a wider audience is something we’re very proud and excited about.”
While the original musical is filled with Quebecois slang, many wonder how songs like “maudite vie plate” will translate to an English audience.
“We’re holding onto a lot of that because we want that flavour, now these things simply can’t be translated and mean the same thing,” explained Brian Hill, who co-adapted the play into English.
The creative team did try to do a literal translation of the musical, but quickly realized it wasn’t working and the spirit of show was getting lost.
“Really what we did is we’ve restructured it into an American structured musical,” said producer, Allan Sandler.
“So New York audiences or Calgary audiences or Toronto audiences can really understand.”
But he promised that the quintessential Quebecois story remains the same.
All the characters, like Germaine Lauzon, Pierrette and Madame Longpré, keep the same names and half the actresses are Quebecoise.
The adaptation comes at an interesting time in the province, with on-going tensions between the English-speaking communities and the Parti Quebecois government’s agenda to protect the French language.
Nonetheless, the director said that the relationships and raw emotion seen on stage translate into all languages.
He said he believes that the beauty of theatre and art is its ability to break down barriers and bring people together.
“To do that in the Segal Centre with an English audience, with the most important popular play, it’s a beautiful partage between all people,” said René Richard Cyr.
Belles Soeurs: The musical premieres at Montreal’s Segal Centre next fall.
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