new blood
Serge Denoncourt performing In Extremis at the Théâtre de Quat-sous in 1987. Four years earlier, aged just 25, he had graduated as a theater student from the Cégep Lionel-Groulx in Sainte-Thérèse. It was the first time that an institutional theater had hired such a young director for a play about attempted rape.
Young founder and director
In 1989 Serge Denoncourt, who had co-founded the theater company Opsis five years earlier (at the age of 22), became its artistic director. He then staged the play Possibilities, directed by six actors who played 38 roles on stage.
“You shouldn’t expect anything when you see this piece,” he said with the frankness we’ve come to expect from him.
workaholic
Awarded at the 1994 Soirée des Masques, the first awards gala in the history of Quebec theater. This gala was canceled in 2008. Serge Denoncourt has signed about 110 productions so far, often four or five a year! He has received multiple awards.
In the interview
Le beau Serge when he revisited Goldoni’s Il Campiello in 2010, a play that had been a huge hit at his Opsis theater 20 years earlier.
“The world is collapsing right now and we’re partying like nothing happened,” he confided at the time, sharing the Venetian playwright’s concerns. It was 13 years ago.
To Scotland
The photo was published in 2012 when Serge Denoncourt returned from Edinburgh, Scotland, where he had directed Michel Tremblay’s play Les belles-sœurs in the English version, The Guid Sisters. A huge success and praise for the director, who really enjoyed working with “absolutely wonderful Scottish actresses”.
▸ Serge Denoncourt passionately takes over the direction of the musical Hair, launched on Broadway in 1968 and performed around the world for more than 50 years: hippie counterculture and sexual revolution, major musical successes such as Aquarius and Let the sunshine In, choreographies . By Just for Laughs. From June 16 at the Théâtre St-Denis. See hahaha.com.
▸ The director is very present throughout France with “I will love you”, a magnificent musical about the life and work of the sacred monster Michel Sardou, 25 songs reinterpreted that tell the story of six friends. Also in Lourdes was born the show Bernadette de Lourdes (the young girl who saw the Virgin Mary), which continues in Paris and then goes on an international tour.
▸ The director is also working on the mega-project Tribute to the heroes of the Normandy Landing, whose 80th anniversary will be celebrated in 2024.
▸ Serge is a regular panelist on the show Le monde à l’envers, moderated by Stéphan Bureau. Fridays at 8 p.m. on TVA.