(Translation-in-progress of Dehors)

War correspondent Arthur Christopher returns to his remote village after a fourteen-year absence for the reading of his father’s will… only to be met by the business end of a rifle held by his younger brother Arnold. As Arthur struggles to break through Arnold’s rage and sense of abandonment, he is haunted by the war-torn environment he has just come from… and increasingly, by a vision of a blonde bear roaming the nearby forest. And then there is the young local woman who seems to embody all the contradictions of his birthplace, the ones he had tried to leave behind… In Gilles Poulin-Denis’s gripping and epic exploration of the links between violence and alienation, the wars within families mirror our fratricidal modern conflicts between tribes and nations… and there are so many ways to find ourselves “outside”.

This powerfully theatrical play by the Governor -General’s-Award-nominated author of Rearview and co-writer of Straightjacket Winter was broadcast on Radio-Canada after an acclaimed production that toured three provinces.

Cast Size: 2F/3M with doubling.
Running time: 75-80 minutes.

Dehors was developed at the National Arts Centre (Ottawa, ON) under Wajdi Mouawad, and produced by Hotel Motel, Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, and the Cercle Molière. This translation-in-development was initially supported by the Glassco Residency in Translation, and workshopped at the Arts Club Theatre (Vancouver, BC) as part of their New Play Festival. It had a public reading on Sept. 14, 2019. The cast: Alessandro Juliani, Kayvon Khoshkam, Pippa Mackie, Kevin McNulty, Adele Noronha, and Alec Willows. Director: Jovanni Sy. SM: Liz King.

“Magnificent poetry” – La Bible Urbaine

“There is a unique colour in Gilles Poulin-Denis’ language… that rejoices in being outside the box” – Voir

“In allowing his characters to express the violence of their emotions and fears, Gilles Poulin-Denis lets us glimpse the sort of pain and hurt that can only be relieved by being expressed.” – Jeu

Excerpt:
ARTHUR: Arnold! I’ve come halfway around the planet to be here.

ARNOLD: This place hasn’t gone nowhere. It’s right where you left it. Anyways, nobody asked ya to come back.

ARTHUR: Would you please stop pointing that thing at me? I’m your brother.

ARNOLD: You’re not my brother. My brother doesn’t exist. When you left, you got erased from the family. My family is everything on this side of the fence. You’re on the other side.