Synopsis
The premiere of As-tu vu? Les maisons s’emportent! takes place 10 days before the first referendum on Quebec sovereignty. A wave of conservatism is sweeping the West: privatization policies benefit those who already have everything, and we witness the gradual dismantling of the state and the common good. Carole Fréchette suggests: “What if we made a play? But this time, we should make a play about us—women in our 30s, activists, feminists, about our reality. In Môman travaille pas, we talked about housewives, but that wasn’t us.” In both the troupe and society at large, lesbian women try to create spaces where they can finally name their own realities. The play particularly addresses mental load—well ahead of its time. The actresses carry backpacks shaped like their houses: “We left our homes, but the homes never left us. So now, les maisons s’emportent!”
A word from Tënk
With her documentary series Nous sortirons de nos cuisines (We Will Leave Our Kitchens), Jenny Cartwright offers us a testimony of extraordinary value. By tracing the history of the first feminist theatre troupe in Quebec, she paints a sweeping historical fresco of the most exhilarating decades of the women’s movement, while also shedding light on key chapters of Quebec’s history. Built from the stories of the troupe’s four members—Solange Collin, Carole Fréchette, Johanne Doré, and Véronique O’Leary—we are given a behind-the-scenes look at the struggles that led to, among other achievements, the legalization of abortion, the establishment of public daycare, the recognition of domestic labor, and maternity leave—all from the unique perspective of this revolutionary troupe.
One wonders why we haven't heard more from the women interviewed in this work—their political insight is simply astonishing. Young feminists will rejoice in gaining access to this memory, delivered with the brilliance we’ve come to expect from Cartwright, now a leading figure in audio storytelling with this ninth sound creation. The radio format could not be more fitting: it allows voices to unfold, ideas to expand, and speech to finally exist without interruption.
This third episode bears witness to the bitter end of the intoxicating decades of the New Left. The revolutionary horizon seems more unattainable than ever, and tensions and contradictions within feminist groups are intensifying. The troupe des cuisines is no exception. While the limitations of heterosexual realities are being challenged by lesbians, they themselves remain invisible in both women's groups and homosexual groups. The looming anti-feminist backlash seems to echo the personal struggles faced by the members of the group, as though the rising tide of conservatism had weakened the very foundations of their dream. Insidiously, the collective unravels in step with social setbacks, reminding us how deeply women’s rights depend on the broader social context—how often it takes only a crisis to push us back into the kitchen…
Naomie Décarie-Daigneault
Tënk's Artistic Director
