2011 Production
COMA UNPLUGGED

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With 'Coma Unplugged' we bring the audience into the mind of a man wrestling with inner demons invoked by cultural conflict. As this remarkably ordinary delirium unfolds, it reveals a mind of sincerity, perseverance, and self-awareness. Cloaked under comedy and cunning, Pierre-Michel's text is nevertheless an earnest and sage message for all generations: cherish life and love, because sardonic indifference leads only to emptiness and apathy. As morbidly amusing as Daniel's grave circumstances may be, the audience is impelled to contemplate their own values and discover a startling empathy. More...

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COMA UNPLUGGED

A message from Lyne Paquette, Artistic Director: The 2011 Talisman Theatre production of Coma Unplugged was an acclaimed success. The reviewers have said that Coma Unplugged was: "a contemporary jewel", "flawless", "first-class", "terrific", "fantastic", "spectacular", "infectiously fun", "a great show", and "a perfect night out"! (More...). If you missed it, don't worry; we shall be touring the show in the New Year!

Our 2012 production will be The Medea Effect, written by Susie Bastien, translated by Nadine Desrochers, and Directed by Emma Tibaldo. Once again we ask for your help: If you would like to volunteer to help in our outreach program or apply to be a board member, please contact me. If you would like to donate, to help support Montreal's English-language theatre, simply click on this PayPal button:

Donors giving $100+ receive a tax receipt.

"The main character--who's in a coma--dreams of this Touareg warrior and knows nothing, well, knows relatively nothing about his culture and so I approach it in the same way. ...His whole culture has been appropriated and compressed into a little label that has become the identity of a car. I mean, it's that conflict that attracted me to the character--this whole issue of appropriation and what does that mean. What are the layers?" More...

"I think a lot of men have to walk that fine line in their lives. What's 'too macho', what is too much of a stereotype to live, but at the same time you need a little bit of it otherwise you feel like you are not living up to your male potential, and so on. ...And I don't know if we give the answers in the show, but we certainly give you something to think about." More...

"I think it is really important, and not pursued enough, to build the bridge between the French and the English communities here, and to have a play that is very well known in the French community and not at all known in the English community, that excites me a lot. ...Pierre-Michel's style ...automatically understands that we break the boundaries of reality to a certain degree, and that's fun for a Director and for a production to be able to have that freedom." More...

"I'll be playing the role of Daniel Martin who's the comatose, thirty-something, young-dad, professional humour writer, trying to find himself inside his coma.... It's going to be anything but realism, and that's a huge motivation for an actor... I think the biggest challenge will be to try to carry and convey that sadness and the angst that he has in order to better hide it with humour and cynicism and sarcasm. 'Cos that's what he does best." More...

"It really ends up being about communication. And I think that the whole play revolves around communicating, and relationships, and really understanding what you want, and trying to convey that to someone who cares about you. ...It's a lot of word play, a lot of hot-and-cold dynamics, which I think is typical of a lot of relationships... And so its a complex relationship, but it's really fascinating in that respect to be able to delve into it." More...

"It's challenging because all of the characters aside from the main character, Daniel, are there because they are in his coma. I'm playing his mom, but he's imaginging that I'm there. So I'm actually playing his perception of his mother, which can be a little bit different. So really, if you think about it, I am just an actress... but I'm also being seen through the eyes of Daniel, the guy in the coma. It's twisted and it's interesting, and it's funny and very touching as well." More...