Michel Tremblay and André Brassard receive the Canadian theater critics award

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Michel Tremblay and his collaborating frequent director André Brassard will have to find space on their shelves for another award. The legendary and award-winning pioneers of Quebec theater received the Herbert Whittaker Award, an acknowledgment of contributions to Canadian theater by the Canadian Association of Theater Critics.

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Tremblay and Brassard burst onto the scene with the groundbreaking play Les Belles-Soeurs, which premiered at the Théâtre du Rideau Vert in 1968. Thereafter, the couple worked on early productions of many other Tremblay classics, such as Hosanna, À toi , pour toujours, ta Marie-Lou and Albertine, at five temps. Their last major joint production was Encore une fois, si vous permettez in 1998, shortly after which Brassard largely retired from directing due to health concerns.

The award is named after the distinguished designer, director, and critic (including in the Montreal Gazette from 1935 to 1949) Herbert Whittaker. Coincidentally, Tremblay and Whittaker received an honorary degree from McGill University on the same day in 1991.

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Past award winners include Robert Lepage, directors Jackie Maxwell and Philip Akin, playwrights Judith Thompson and Tomson Highway, and puppeteer Ronnie Burkett.

“The election of Messrs. Tremblay and Brassard is no surprise,” said the president of the Canadian Association of Theater Critics, Martin Morrow, in a statement. “The only surprise is that it has taken us so long to honor them with the award. Their work together had a great impact on our theater and helped us put ourselves on the international map. “

Tremblay’s dramatic mastery can be enjoyed when his adaptation of Anton Chekhov Platonov plays at the Théâtre Prospero from November 23 to December 11. Dear Chekhov , his tribute to the Russian master, opens in May at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde.