FTA – Festival TransAmériques: 4 suggestions to shake up your festival routine

As it does every year, the FTA is once again kicking off Montreal’s festival season. Running from May 22 to June 5, the Festival’s 19^th edition promises to offer even more original offerings that stray off the beaten path. Here are four ideas that are sure to please fearless festivalgoers!

Lacrima — Theatre

At Théâtre Jean-Duceppe, you’ll be privileged witnesses to the eight months it took to fashion a wedding dress for an English princess—through a powerful flashback. A choral narrative unveils a mosaic of working-class lives, highlighting the power struggles between Paris, Alençon, and Mumbai. Caroline Guiela Nguyen, a leading voice on the French theatre scene, stages her story, blending hyperrealism and poetry, in a spectacular set inspired by split-screen television.

Shiraz — Dance

In the Cinquième Salle, Iranian choreographer Armin Hokmi will transport you to the defunct Shiraz Arts Festival, which suddenly came to an end several years ago. In a tribute piece both fascinating and sensitive, six performers weave a minimalist choreography of slow movements, coiling and uncoiling. Their bodies create ephemeral constellations, enveloping the audience with their magic.

Toi, Moi, Tituba… — Dance & music

In a Cinquième Salle transformed into a forest of neon lights, Dorothée Munyaneza will give new voice to Black women who have been erased by history. These notably include Tituba, a slave tried at the Salem witch trials—based on an essay by Elsa Dorlin and the novel I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé… Accompanied by composer and musician Khyam Allami, Munyaneza conducts a mesmerizing occult ceremony paying homage to the forgotten, creating both a space of vindication and an act of love.

Taverna Miresia | Mario Bella Anastasia — Theatre

Lastly, Théâtre Jean-Duceppe will be transformed into a family tavern bathed in buzzing neon and the memories of a childhood marked by the absence of a father lost long ago. Originally from Albania, Mario Banushi, a rising star on the Greek theatre scene, takes on the challenge of bringing these memories back to life without words, to the sound of traditional songs and the magnetic presence of the female figures who have shaped his life. A play drawing on raw realism and atmospheric visuals

All in all, this 19^th edition of the FTA features 20 shows that will challenge the prevailing cynicism of our time and provide a breath of fresh air on the cultural and artistic landscape. It’s all very promising and a great way to start off the festival season!