You Will Remember Me

by François Archambault, translated by Bobby Theodore

tagged: canadian

Description

Memory, personal, familial, and societal – is the central theme of this new play by Governor General’s Award-winning playwright François Archambault. Translated by Bobby Theodore, this work follows a family’s struggle with dementia. Edouard is a University professor and historian, a figure prominent in the public eye and a long-time sovereignist. He has been proud throughout his life of his prodigious memory. As memory fails, Edouard tests the ability of family members to care for him.

The play also examines collective memory and the current state of affairs in Quebec. Edouard has been appearing on talk shows since his retirement, railing against the dumbing down of society and the adverse effects of technology. Archambault uses personal memory as a foil and metaphor to explore social memory, particularly reexamining moments from the history of the Parti Québécois.

Subtle, moving, and funny, You Will Remember Me shows that living completely in the present moment is a nightmare. Harkening to the past, and memory are essential for the human condition.

You will Remember Me opened in French in 2014 and was produced in English at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto.

About the Authors

François Archambault graduated from the playwriting program at the National Theatre School of Canada in 1993 and has also completed a major in French Studies at the Université de Montréal. Between 1989 and 1998, he wrote twelve plays and his work appeared in seven anthologies. His 1992 play Le jour de la fête de Martin was among the thirteen finalists selected in the Concours Val’en Scène in Valenciennes, France, and received a special mention from the jury. Archambault secured his reputation as a sharp social satirist with his earlier plays Cul sec (Fast Lane) and Les gagnants (The Winners). He further established his importance on the Québec theatre scene with the award-winning 15 Seconds, a darkly humorous play about social alienation arising from superficial relationships. His most recent works include You Will Remember Me and The Leisure Society.

Bobby Theodore is a Toronto-based screenwriter, playwright, dramaturg, and translator. After graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada’s playwriting section in 1998, he was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award in 2000 for his translation of 15 Seconds by François Archambault. Since then, Bobby has gone on to translate over twenty-five plays from French to English. His most recent translations include The Just by Albert Camus and The Law of Gravity by Olivier Sylvestre.

Editorial Reviews

“Laughter. Tears. A brilliant catharsis. You Will Remember Me … is an absolute beauty.”
– Elizabeth Drummond, @misslizbet

“Bobby Theodore’s adept English translation [of] François Archambault’s acclaimed 2014 play Tu te souviendras de moi, a big hit, [was first produced in Calgary and is now on stage in Toronto.] … Memory is a central preoccupation, of course, in Quebec, where the imperative to remember the province/nation’s ongoing fight for recognition is embossed on its licence plates: Je me souviens. … Part of the success of Archambault’s play is his lightness of touch with the national metaphor: this is principally an intergenerational family story exploring the painful effects of memory loss with sensitivity and wit.”
—Toronto Star

“[A] thought-provoking, mind-bending drama …”
—Tap Into Mahopac

“Archambault’s knack for combining painful tragedy with laughter is partly what lifts the play from being what he calls ‘a disease play.’ … What seems to have struck a chord with audiences, not just in Quebec but all over Canada, is the way the play uses Alzheimer’s as a metaphor to talk about wider political issues.”
—Montreal Gazette

“A curious and evolving portrayal of family dynamics and how memory and identity plays into that. What emerges are some touching and unexpected connections. … On one level, this is a play about a specific family dealing with dementia, but it also speaks to a wider social phenomenon. … What does it mean for a society to have a kind of collective dementia when it comes to its own history? Archambault offers no answer, but he leaves us with memorable questions.”
—Richmond News

“What really moves the play beyond medical melodrama is the connection Archambault makes between personal and national memory … Will Quebec’s memory of itself one day disintegrate, Archambault asks through Edouard? And are we short-circuiting our own synapses by living in a permanent, social media-driven present? … A thrillingly multi-layered play”
—Montreal Gazette

“The best part of You Will Remember Me is the discussion in the car on the way home and lingering long after.”
– Jo Ledingham, Vancouver Courier

“There’s a kind of genius in You Will Remember Me.”
– Colin Thomas, Georgia Straight

About BC Books Online

You Will Remember Me

by François Archambault, translated by Bobby Theodore

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