“Ever since her brother’s untimely death, Marie has been fascinated with angels, believing her brother has become one. Now, as a young woman, she has dedicated her doctoral thesis to the subject: the sudden portrayal of angels with feet in Renaissance paintings. As Marie tries to analyze the motive behind this, she begins to uncover questions of existentialism, societal perceptions of women, and the meaning of art and life. Her biggest challenge, though, becomes grasping a seemingly impossible understanding of her brother’s suicide, and dealing with her own dislocation.” (From the Playwrights Canada Press)
MARIE: portrayed by two actresses, 1 and 2
ROMAIN: her friend
PAUL: her brother
MONIQUE: her mother
CHARLES: her father
KARINE: her half-sister (Charles’s daughter by his first marriage)
SUZANNE: Charles’s sister
JEAN-PIERRE: Suzanne’s boyfriend
DOCTOR: a veiled woman
THE EYE: a camera
THE CHOIR: a group varying in size from scene to scene
NOTE: The Choir is probably onstage at all times, and actors emerge from it depending on the scene. By turns, it can thus provide the salsa class, the funeral parlour, the sound stage, etc. It is the communal voice, whether in good faith or in pettiness.
Paul is something of an angel or apparition, sometimes visible, sometimes not, but omnipresent regardless.
Théâtre Espace Go, Montréal, 2009.
Feet of the Angels is available through Playwrights Canada Press.
To view other works by this playwright, click here.
