(Translated from Le Brasier)

WINNER OF THE 2022 DORA MAVOR MOORE AWARDS FOR BEST NEW PLAY, DIRECTOR (SOHEIL PARSA), AND PRODUCTION.

Three very odd triplets, two misfits, and one unforgettable woman, burning with loneliness and desire….

Somewhere between riotous black comedy and surreal Greek tragedy, this tender, ferocious, poetic, and tightly structured mini-epic is an exploration of heredity and fate that also leaves room for the choices we make. Doomed to the flames by their very nature, Paquet's seemingly ordinary characters nevertheless choose to struggle against their solitude in extraordinary ways, always managing to remain both relatable and amazing.

Le Brasier by Governor-General’s-Award-winning playwright David Paquet (a previous winner of the Prix Michel-Tremblay) was first produced by Montréal’s Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui and L’Homme Allumette, directed by Philippe Cyr. It was subsequently brought back by popular demand; remounted at Usine C; produced in Belgium and Switzerland; and translated into multiple languages. This original French version was awarded the Prix BMO as well as the international francophone Prix Sony Labou Tansi, and was nominated for the prestigious Prix Michel-Tremblay.

This translation was commissioned by Talisman Theatre and supported by a grant from the Arts Across Canada programme of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Wildfire received its world premiere on January 24, 2020 from Upstream Theater in St. Louis, Missouri, directed by Philip Boehm.

Wildfire received its Canadian premiere on June 2, 2022 at the Factory Theatre in Toronto, ON, in a production directed by Soheil Parsa.

Talisman Theatre’s production of Wildfire runs at La Chapelle as part of Centaur Theatre’s Wildside Festival from January 16 to 28, 2023, in a production directed by Jon Lachlan Stewart. (Montreal PQ)

Cast: Six characters can be doubled by as few as three performers.

More about David Paquet (You can also read more about his award-winning play The Shoe here)

“Minimalist and mesmeric, Wildfire is the first must see theater event of the year.” – Broadway World

“Wildfire burns with a stage magic that’s nothing short of exhilarating.” – St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Sometimes you have to go outside your own country, preoccupied with its familiar storylines and its delicious "pure entertainments", to get at true greatness, and a fascinating, maddening truth about all mankind. Sometimes you have to go to Canada for the drugs to make you sane all over again.” – Talkin’ Broadway

“Upstream Theater artistic director Philip Boehm once again has found a precious gem from another culture” – Ladue News

“Wildfire glows with the heat of discovery, releases a kinetic energy with surprise revelations and pops with dark humor.” – poplifestl.com

“Wildfire at Upstream Theatre is a clever, intriguing evening full of laughs, and, as the connections between parts are understood, chills.” – KDHX St. Louis

”From the rich and lively French-language theatre culture of Montreal comes two special artists, the young author David Paquet, and his translator, Leanna Brodie.” - Intermission

“Both tragic and hilarious, David Paquet’s ferociously original Le Brasier [Wildfire] is filled with brilliant and surprising insights that communicate the highly sensitive vision of the world of this young Québec playwright.” – 7e ciel, Journal Métro

”A work whose comic side, laced with the unconventional, does not obscure its profound theme .” – Revue Jeu

”David Paquet affirms humanity with unsparing candour.” –Mat.tv

”Well done, M. Paquet! Thank you for this infernally lucid play.” –  atuvu.ca

“Six years after its original French premiere, Wildfire is a bold new English-language translation whose sardonic humour and twisting, cyclical storyline will offer audience members on both sides of the aisle plenty to talk about.“ – McGill Tribune

”Le texte est riche, les échanges vifs et moi, même si c'est en langue anglaise, je suis bien, bien attentif, et je ris souvent aussi !” – Sur les pas du spectateur

Excerpt:

CLAUDINE (to the audience, holding a tray of smouldering cookies):
I don’t know about you, but I talk to my cookies.
Don’t worry, they don’t talk back...
It’s more like we have a little chat... where I’m the only one chatting.
I talk, they listen.
I transmit, they receive.
Like all of you, actually.
Come to think of it, you’re exactly like my cookies.