School is out for the summer, and twelve-year-old Julien has an adventure planned in his own backyard. Through sleight of hand, he’s found a way to convince each member of his family he’s away with someone else, leaving him alone in Montreal to get into trouble with his best friend Jacques. Being well-off hasn't prevented Julien from getting sucked into a pyramid scheme, and he’s taking Jacques along for the ride, even though his friend is broke.

But maybe this is a chance for Jacques to get himself out of the hole and buy a new bike, or have his sick dog put down, or send his grandmother to a retirement home. The possibilities seem endless. But the boys are learning a lesson in the best laid plans, and when they discover they’re in trouble, they must figure a way out together, and fast.

As Jacques and Julien cycle through various scenarios to disentangle themselves, they struggle to find common ground, only to realize time is up. Inspired by Darwin’s theory of evolution, Darwin in a Day asks with new urgency the age-old question: are we bound to the circumstances to which we were born?

Writer and actress Evelyne de la Chenelière is an essential figure within Québec theatre. Translated and presented throughout the world, her plays question the limits of language and the experience of writing. In 2017 she was a finalist for the Siminovich Prize for excellence and innovation in Canadian theatre. Among her works, La vie utile, created at Espace GO and staged at the Festival TransAmériques, received the Marcel Dubé Award from the Académie des lettres du Québec, and premiered in German in Frankfurt. Bashir Lazhar was adapted into the film Monsieur Lazhar by Philippe Falardeau and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Her most recent play, Le traitement de la nuit, was directed by Denis Marleau in Montréal, premiered in Frankfurt in German translation, and was the subject of a public reading at the Comédie Française in Paris. Evelyne de la Chenelière’s journey is marked by formal exploration and a desire to question living art, both through writing and acting. A singular artist who defies expectations, her work is present in major institutions in Québec and abroad, but also lives within their hidden margins.

Evelyne de la Chenelière's profile page

Nigel Spencer's work includes acting, directing, teaching, educational research and training, journalism, subtitling and co-scripting films, as well as script-doctoring.

He taught the first bilingual graduate course on Comparative Canadian Dramaturgy (l'Université de Sherbrooke), and a performance-based course on Shakespeare at the State University of New York (Plattsburgh).

He has published six books of translated work by Marie-Claire Blais, including Thunder and Light, Augustino and the Choir of Destruction, and Mai at the Predators' Ball, which earned him three Governor General's Literary Awards for Translation.

His theatre translations include three plays by Evelyne de la Chenelière, one of which, September, will be produced by Canadian Stage in Toronto in 2020.

Nigel Spencer's profile page