Evelyne de la Chenelière

Writer and actress, Evelyne de la Chenelière is an essential figure on the Quebec stage and in contemporary playwriting.

Her plays, translated and performed in Quebec and across Canada, but also around the world, question the limits of language and the experience of writing. In 2017, she was a finalist for the Siminovich Award for Excellence and Innovation in Canadian theater and in 2018 she received the distinction of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres of the French Republic.

Among her plays, La vie utile, created at l’Espace Go and presented at the Festival TransAmériques directed by Marie Brassard, earned her the Marcel Dubé Award from the Académie des Lettres du Québec. Bashir Lazhar was adapted for the cinema by filmmaker Philippe Falardeau under the title Monsieur Lazhar. The film was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign language film. Her most recent text, Le traitement de la nuit, was directed by Denis Marleau in Montreal and by Kornelius Eich in Frankfurt in its German translation.

Often invited to discuss her practice and the themes running through her work, she has lectured at various literature and theater festivals in Mexico, Limoges, Toulouse, Paris, Edinburgh, London, Saarbrücken and Cairo. She has also given master classes and participated in round tables (Conservatoire d’Art Dramatique in Montréal, University of Munich, Conservatoire de Tours, Universitat de València, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris).

As an actress, we have seen her in prominent roles directed, among others, by Marie Brassard, Daniel Brière, Jérémie Niel, Brigitte Haentjens, Florent Siaud, Cédric Delorme-Bouchard and, more recently, filmmaker Denis Côté.

Evelyne de la Chenelière’s career is characterized by a formal exploration and a desire to question the performing arts, both through writing and performance. Her singularity makes her an artist who challenges expectations. She is present in the great institutions of Quebec and abroad, but also in the mystery of its margins.