Alumni quartet in Tableau D'Hôte production

Four Concordia Department of Theatre graduates will be part of the Maritime play Dark Owl when it premiers in Quebec this month in a Tableau D'Hôte production at the Mainline Theatre.

Director Jessica Abdullah and Artistic Director Mike Payette, both graduates of the Faculty of Fine Arts, currently work in the Department of Theatre as workshop leaders and teaching assistants.

Alumnae Léa Rondot will play Delcia in Dark Owl, while Liz Burns will play Victorine. 

Dark Owl, by playwright Laval Goupil, transports audiences to a small New Brunswick fishing town during the 1970s. When a good-looking stranger appears in the village, a dysfunctional family is forced to confront their involvement in a tragic event.

“What's most compelling about this family's story is their will and dire need to come back together as a unit,” says Payette. “It’s important to ask what our own position would be. How much responsibility are we willing to take.”

The production, translated by playwright Glen Nichols, includes text from Goupil’s original Chiac version and provides an Acadian flavour that mirrors Quebec’s distinct blend of French and English.

“The bilingual element in the play furthers the idea of how we communicate our territory, our culture, our breath, our fears, our wounds and our secrets in this country,” says Abdallah.

Dark Owl opens November 17 and runs until November 28 at Mainline Theatre (3997 St. Laurent Blvd.). Admission is $20 or $15 for students and seniors. Call 514-849-3378 for more details.

Related links:
•    Concordia Department of Theatre
•    Mainline Theatre