Bonheur d'occasion

Show • Spoken Word • Literature
Bonheur d'occasion
Photo: ©Conrad Poirier | Gabrielle Roy and Bonheur d'occasion
Dates

October 2 and 3, 2026

2 performances

Place Hydro-Québec Studio
Monument-National
Price
Regular: $38 Tx and fees incl.
Festival international de la Littérature

Brought to the stage in a deeply embodied reading by Marie-Thérèse Fortin, the great novel Bonheur d'occasion regains its full emotional power. Following her acclaimed performance of La Détresse et l’enchantement, the actress returns to Gabrielle Roy’s literary world, accompanied by writer Dominique Fortier, whose insight has helped shape the artistic conception of this new production.

Published in Canada in 1945 and awarded the Prix Femina in France in 1947, Bonheur d'occasion is a landmark of Canadian literature. Set in Montreal during the Second World War, Florentine, Rose-Anna, Azarius, Emmanuel, and Jean each search, in their own way, for happiness through love, family, and the hope of a better future. With profound humanity, Gabrielle Roy gives voice to lives shaped by both the promise of progress and the violence of history.

  • Duration 1h15 without intermission
  • Language French
  • Seats General admission

  • Text

    Gabrielle Roy (Boréal)

    Performed Reading and Direction

    Marie-Thérèse Fortin

    Literary and Artistic Consulting

    Dominique Fortier

    Lighting Design

    Marguerite Hudon

    Assistant Director and Stage Manager

    Stéphanie Capistran-Lalonde

  • Production / Presentation

    Festival international de la littérature (FIL)

Associated Event
Not to be missed

Meet Marie-Thérèse Fortin and Dominique Fortier

After the show on Friday, October 2

Accessible to all ticket holders for this performance.

“In this gallery of lives shaped by circumstance, Gabrielle Roy respectfully gives each person their rightful place. With their silences and their mysteries. The poor are entitled to those too. She makes them unforgettable figures.”

Fabienne Pascaud, Télérama

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