Witty, prickly and fresh, Playing Bare is a mordant satire on the relation between theatre and life. An accomplished actress is on the verge of a nervous breakdown as she directs Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. In her deranged effort to expose the emptiness of playing fictional characters, she casts the lead roles with a pair of non-actors whose lives mirror those of the characters they play. Her search for the ultimate theatrical experience—life becoming art—takes the action in hilarious and insightful directions.
Short-listed 1994 Governor General's Literary Award for Translation
By Dominic Champagne
Born in Quebec, Dominic Champagne is one of the leading Québécois playwrights of his generation. He has written over 10 plays including La Cité Interdite, Import-Export and Le Soldat Inconnu. Playing Bare_ (1993) is his first play in translation. La Répétition, in its original French, was awarded the Quebec Theatre Critic’s prize for the best play of the 1990 season, and was short-listed for the Governor General’s Award for French drama.
Translated by Shelley Tepperman
Shelley Tepperman has a long history in Canadian theatre specializing in new play dramaturgy, project development and translation for the stage. Her many translations from French (and occasionally, Spanish and Italian)—have been produced at CBC radio and on stages across North America, and two were nominated for the Governor General’s Award. Tepperman has worked for CBC Radio developing, adapting and directing/producing radio dramas for national broadcast. She also works in documentary film and television as a writer, story editor and director.
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