Parler mal (Speaking Poorly)

What is “good” French? Parisian French, Montrealer French, Brusselian French? Is there one correct way of expressing oneself, one accent that is above the rest? Long silent for fear of being judged, Bianca Richard and Gabriel Robichaud chose to face their linguistic insecurity and ultimately free themselves from it. As an act of resistance, the two Acadians from southeastern New Brunswick sift through the stigma of their reputation of being “bad francophones”.

Through a series of delightfully offbeat and skillfully documented scenes, Parler mal exposes with humour, yet painfully at times, the biases we have about language. In examining what language means to the construction of our identities and imaginations, this tribute to setting speech free echoes beyond borders to welcome the diversity of our ways of expression through language.

Show presented by Théâtre la Seizième and Alliance française de Vancouver. Production: Théâtre Gauche (Moncton).

In French, with English surtitles.

From age 12 and up.

Performances (70 minutes):

Feb. 6, 7:30pm (bilingual talkback with the artists after the show) + Feb. 7, 2pm

Tickets: seizieme.ca