Quebec playwright Michel Marc Bouchard made his professional debut in 1985. Since then he has written 25 plays, and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including, in June 2012, the prestigious National Order of Quebec for his contribution to Quebec culture, and, in 2005, the Order of Canada. He has also received le Prix Journal de Montréal, Prix du Cercle de critiques de l’Outaouais, the Governor General’s Award, the Dora Mavor Moore Award, and the Chalmers Award for Outstanding New Play. The Vancouver productions of Lilies (1993) and The Orphan Muses (1995) also garnered nine Jesse Richardson Theatre Awards.
Translated into nine languages, Bouchard’s bold and visionary works have represented Canada in major festivals around the world and been produced by theaters on four continents. Though the subjects of his plays are often serious, Bouchard is no stranger to comedy. Several of his plays like Les entreprises amoureuses, Le Désir and Pierre et Marie, have been mounted at summer theatres in French and English. Bouchard is also the author of Written on Water, Down Dangerous Passes Road, The Coronation Voyage, which was performed in 2003 as the first Canadian-authored play at the Shaw Festival in 25 years, The Tale of Teeka, and The Madonna Painter, all available in English from Talonbooks.
Linda Gaboriau is an award-winning literary translator based in Montreal. Her translations of plays by Quebec’s most prominent playwrights have been published and produced across Canada and abroad. In her work as a literary manager and dramaturge, she has directed numerous translation residencies and international exchange projects. She was the founding director of the Banff International Literary Translation Centre. Most recently she won the 2010 Governor General’s Award for Forests, her translation of the play by Wajdi Mouawad.
