Staging of Boris Vian’s Empire Builders a brave leap for Ottawa theatre scene

Empire Builders is something new for the local English theatre scene: a professionally produced absurdist play by Boris Vian, a French polymath. And Joël Beddows, artistic director of Théâtre du Catapulte, is the one cultivating it. Familiar with the French language theatre of the region from his work with Catapulte, Beddows is taking up the director’s mantle under the aegis of local company Third Wall Theatre.

Ottawa is usually home to very particular forms of theatre, generally more traditional, linear plays. “There isn’t a lot of absurd theatre in the city” says Beddows, “and this is very regrettable. Third Wall Theatre has made a very brave and intelligent choice, which audiences should embrace.”

Empire Builders is a comedic play – an absurdist look into our culture of fear and what happens when we are ruled by terror, and features a strong cast of locals, including Katie Bunting, Julian Doucet, Matt Miwa, Alix Sideris, Maureen Smith and Riley Stewart.

“This production is the result of the great savoir-faire of these great local artists. The work has been very rewarding,” says Beddows, obviously pleased at being exposed to a new community, to the new experiences and new concepts of theatre. He also hopes to effect a certain rapprochement of the English and French acting communities, to resolve some of the bias that exists between them.

His excitement about the play is infectious too. It’s the first real example of a larger and more elegant production being staged in our new local theatre space, as well as a move towards an expanding artistic depth and range.

Vian was a cultivated and intellectual French writer, and Empire Builders deals with some all-too-relevant political issues that spiral out from our terrorized worldview. But the real power of this play is the method used in that investigation: the light and life of Vian’s strange visions, the humour and wit of his absurd situations. It is “thought provoking,” according to Beddows, but “the thought is fun and humorous – this is not a heady play.” Beddows pauses to grapple with a word before continuing, “It is about living with style, with ‘esprit.’ And about falling into absurdity as a survival mechanism.”

As appeared in the Ottawa XPress – Feb 07, 2008
http://www.ottawaxpress.ca/stage/stage.aspx?iIDArticle=13961