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Winner of the 2017 Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd'hui’s People’s Choice Dramatic Author of the Year
Winner of the 2019 Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards Outstanding Original Script
With spark and spunk, these two dark yet absurdly charming comedies offer a kaleidoscopic perspective of those who are destined to go down a lonely path and those who choose to share the weight of others’ journeys.
In Wildfire, three odd triplets, two misfits, and one misunderstood woman are all burning with solitude and desire. Through an exploration of heredity and fate, these seemingly ordinary characters choose to struggle against their isolation in extraordinary yet relatable ways.
In The Shoe, a weary mother, her perplexing son, their shy dentist, and his cocktail-sipping receptionist find themselves drawn together to face problems too daunting to deal with alone. From meltdowns to moments of tenderness, each of them are called on to find reserves of strength and empathy they never knew they had.
“Both tragic and hilarious, David Paquet’s ferociously original [Wildfire] is filled with brilliant and surprising insights that communicate the highly sensitive vision of the world of this young Québec playwright.” —Métro
“Fresh, original and off-the-wall . . . does what all good theatre should do: it engages the imagination.” —Jo Ledingham Theatre Reviews
"An engaging, yet virulent, exploration of parenthood, love, loss, memory and familial distress... minimalist and mesmeric." —Rob Levy
“Wildfire glows with the heat of discovery, releases a kinetic energy with surprise revelations and pops with dark humor.” —PopLifeSTL.com
David Paquet is a graduate in playwriting from the National Theatre School of Canada (2006) and lives in Montreal. His plays Porc-épic; 2h14; Appels entrants illimités; Les grands-mères mortes (co-authored with Karine Sauvé); Le Brasier; Histoires à plumes et à poils (co-authored with Érika Tremblay Roy and Marie-Hélène Larose-Truchon); Le Soulier; Chansons pour le musée (co-authored with Karine Sauvé); Le Poids des fourmis; and Papiers mâchés and Le Voilier (manifeste du fragile), two one-man shows of stand-up poetry he performs himself, have gathered international praise and been produced in more than twelve countries all over North America and Europe. They have cumulatively won the Governor General's Literary Award, the Michel-Tremblay Award, the Sony-Labou-Tansi Award (twice), the Young Audiences Quebec Critic's Choice Award (twice) and the Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui Audience's Choice Award.
Leanna Brodie is a Montreal-based playwright, translator, and actor. Her plays Schoolhouse, The Book of Esther, For Home and Country, and The Vic have been seen from coast to coast. Her opera with Anthony Young, Ulla’s Odyssey, toured the UK for two years with OperaUpClose. She is also a leading translator of Québécois and Franco-Canadian plays, and recent premieres include Rébecca Déraspe’s I Am William (Stratford Festival) and You Are Happy (GCTC); Sébastien Harrison’s From Alaska (Belfry Theatre); Catherine Léger’s I Lost My Husband! (Gateway Theatre/Ruby Slippers Theatre) and Home Deliveries (Ruby Slippers/Jericho Arts Centre); Fanny Britt’s Benevolence (Ruby Slippers Theatre/Pacific Theatre), and David Paquet’s Wildfire (Upstream Theater, Factory Theatre, Dora Mavor Moore Award) and The Weight of Ants (The Cherry Arts, Tom Hendry Award).