Photo — Christophe Manquillet
Are your convictions so fragile that mine cannot stand in opposition to them?
The story begins in France during the reign of Napoleon I, in the peaceful Charenton Asylum, where the most famous resident is the irrepressible Marquis de Sade. Abbé de Coulmier, the director of the facility, believes he can rehabilitate this man who uses his writing to explore what is forbidden to humans, his sexual urges and his immoral desires.
Despite the Abbé’s pervasive presence, Sade continues to get his scandalous stories published with the help of the young laundress, Madeleine. Napoleon I sends Dr. Royer-Collard to the asylum to silence this crazy person whose work is jeopardizing the society’s moral foundations. But how far will he go to stop him?
Censorship and freedom of expression collide and come face to face in this landmark piece that questions both the responsibility of artists when it comes to the repercussions of their work and the very definition of morality, which is not as immutable as is often believed.
Quills, Doug Wright’s controversial work, is a collaboration between Jean-Pierre Cloutier and Robert Lepage.
