Photo — Anne-Marie Desmarais
In 1740, the trial of Marguerite Duplessis took place here in Quebec. This young Indigenous woman initiated a trial to demand her freedom. Bought to be resold, she was to be sent immediately on a merchant ship to Martinique. This was the first time in the history of New France that an Indigenous person filed a lawsuit. It was also the first time that an enslaved person tried to have her right to liberty recognized. Inevitably, Marguerite lost the trial and was sent to Martinique. What became of her is unknown.
The fire inside Marguerite inspired this show. This same fire burns in all the Marguerites of the past and of today who fight for justice. It’s the fire of renewal and rediscovered memories.
Marguerite : le feu is the theatrical version of a project with three forms. The show is accompanied by a podcast series called Marguerite : la traversée and a sound journey in places of remembrance called Marguerite : la pierre.
https://espacego.com/nouvelles/marguerite-la-traversee-un-balado-demilie-monnet-sur-marguerite-duplessis/
Obsessed with her story, I went to look for traces of Marguerite 280 years later. I walked over stone and volcanic rock, crossed the river at the place where the fresh water meets salt water, and listened to the wind in Martinique. I wondered if there were other ways to awaken memories and fill the holes of history.
Émilie Monnet, playwright
The Marguerite project was developed with funding from the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund. The creation of the show was also supported by the Cole Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.
This show has received support through the Territoire/Création program (Théâtre de la Ville, Théâtre du Bic and Théâtre Hector-Charland) and CEAD’s Émergence théâtrale autochtone program, in partnership with the Cole Foundation.
The project benefited from residencies at Le Diamant, the Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, the National Theatre School of Canada and Salon 58.
