Corps fantômes

Flashback to 1990. Montreal is pulsing. The bars are packed, Vogue plays on repeat, and the queer community dances to forget: the shadow of AIDS, the stigma that still calls homosexuality a mental illness, the violence that erupts in the streets. And the police? Best to steer clear.

At the heart of this whirlwind, an impossible love story: a young artist falls for a police officer torn between duty and desire. Around them, a circle of friends try to piece together who they are, and where they belong. Then one truth becomes clear: survival depends on solidarity. The LGBTQIA2+ community begins to organize and to resist.

Moving between past and present, Corps fantômes weaves a gripping, deeply human thriller where private secrets echo collective struggles. As Marion delves into her father’s story, she uncovers more than a family secret. She resurrects a silenced generation, partly lost, who fought to claim their place and their rights. A story of love and defiance. A story that had never reached us until now.

Unapologetic and unflinching, Corps fantômes blurs the line between the raw and the sublime to build a queer mythology born right here.

Inspired by true events, the play brings to life key figures such as Michael Hendricks, Réjean Thomas, Claudine Metcalfe, and Josée Yvon, retracing pivotal moments in queer activism, from the Sex Garage raid to the actions of ACT UP. About time.

To tell this vital story, La Messe Basse gathered eight artists who wrote Corps fantômes collectively, drawing from lived experience, research, and testimony. Over four years, including two in residency at Duceppe, they explored archives and interviewed survivors. Under the inspired direction of Maxime Carbonneau and the dramaturgical guidance of Dany Boudreault, this ambitious work takes shape on stage as a cry from the heart: What have we forgotten? What are we still willing to fight for today?