Alternative Francophone (Apr 2018)
Le théâtre francophone à Calgary et ses publics –la recherche de communautés identitaires caractérisées par la dispersion et la pluralité, ouvertes à la diversité
Abstract
Cet article trace l'histoire plutôt difficile des diverses étapes de l'activité théâtrale francophone à Calgary. L'auteure insiste surtout sur les obstacles créés par l'absence centenaire dans cette ville d'un quartier francophone, et donc d'une collectivité cohérente. Abstract Theatre in French has existed in Calgary for more than a century. However, this existence has been difficult. Before and around the turn of the twentieth century, theatrical activities formed an integral part of community events, at the heart of which was the French language, a shared religious faith and a sense of belonging felt by the those living in Rouleauville, a village situated near the forks of the Bow and Elbow rivers. It was the arrival in this place of thousands of English-speaking immigrants, thanks to the newly constructed railroad, which brought about the dispersal of the inhabitants of the village and resulted in its disappearance as Rouleauville. Subsequent to the arrival of these waves of immigrants, the village was rebaptised as part of Calgary. The name of the church was anglicised; the streets all lost the names of its francophone founders and were replaced by numbers. The consequence of this dispersal still exists today insofar as there exists in Calgary neither a francophone quarter nor a neighborhood identifiable as coherently francophone. Although there are thousands of Francophones in Calgary today and schools at all levels, this geographical scattering and this absence of shared demographics (made worse by the diverse origins and employment of these French-speaking people) stand in the way of the development of a large and loyal theatre public. Initiatives throughout the twentieth century to do theatre in French in Calgary have invariably been faced with the harsh reality of a scattered and unengaged public. There has never been a francophone professional company in this city. In the twenty-first century, the support of Canadian and Alberta francophone organisations bring hope for the survival of the theatre cooperative, le Théâtre à pic, which has been active for a decade. This company has permanent access for the first time in Calgary to a suitable theatre space: la Cité des Rocheuses.
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