Wildfire & The Shoe

By (author): David Paquet

Translated by: Leanna Brodie

With spark and spunk, these two dark yet absurdly charming comedies offer a kaleidoscopic perspective of those who are destined to go down a lonely path and those who choose to share the weight of others’ journeys.

In Wildfire, three odd triplets, two misfits, and one misunderstood woman are all burning with solitude and desire. Through an exploration of heredity and fate, these seemingly ordinary characters choose to struggle against their isolation in extraordinary yet relatable ways.

In The Shoe, a weary mother, her perplexing son, their shy dentist, and his cocktail-sipping receptionist find themselves drawn together to face problems too daunting to deal with alone. From meltdowns to moments of tenderness, each of them are called on to find reserves of strength and empathy they never knew they had.

AUTHOR

Leanna Brodie

Leanna Brodie is an actress, writer, and literary translator of several works, including Sébastien Harrisson’s From Alaska, Hélène Ducharme’s Baobab, and Louise Bombardier’s My Mother Dog, to name a few. She has also written numerous plays that have toured Canada, as well as the CBC Radio dramas Invisible City and Seeds of Our Destruction. Most recently, Leanna attended Tapestry’s renowned composer-librettist laboratory, and has since worked on operas, including Opera on the Rocks. Her play The Book of Esther was published in 2012 by Talonbooks.

AUTHOR

David Paquet

David Paquet is a graduate in playwriting from the National Theatre School of Canada (2006) and lives in Montreal. His plays Porc-épic; 2h14; Appels entrants illimités; Les grands-mères mortes (co-authored with Karine Sauvé); Le Brasier; Histoires à plumes et à poils (co-authored with Érika Tremblay Roy and Marie-Hélène Larose-Truchon); Le Soulier; Chansons pour le musée (co-authored with Karine Sauvé); Le Poids des fourmis; and Papiers mâchés and Le Voilier (manifeste du fragile), two one-man shows of stand-up poetry he performs himself, have gathered international praise and been produced in more than twelve countries all over North America and Europe. They have cumulatively won the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Michel-Tremblay Award, the Sony-Labou-Tansi Award (twice), the Young Audiences Quebec Critics’ Choice Award (twice) and the Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui Audience’s Choice Award.


Reviews

“Fresh, original and off-the-wall . . . does what all good theatre should do: it engages the imagination.”


“An engaging, yet virulent, exploration of parenthood, love, loss, memory and familial distress… minimalist and mesmeric.”


– Rob Levy

Wildfire glows with the heat of discovery, releases a kinetic energy with surprise revelations and pops with dark humor.”


“Brodie’s translation deftly transmits Paquet’s darkly ludicrous voice while maintaining his poetic speech and intense characters.”


– Amanda L. Andrei

“Enchanting from start to finish.”


– Janine Marley

“Both tragic and hilarious, David Paquet’s ferociously original [Wildfire] is filled with brilliant and surprising insights that communicate the highly sensitive vision of the world of this young Québec playwright.”


“Paquet has peppered his script with ironic and sometimes hilarious dialogue where seemingly idiotic pronouncements have the ring of truth, and absurdist situations become real life. That is the brilliance of Wildfire — the play literally sucks the audience into the chaos — and at this point we should mention the sparkling translation by Leanna Brodie which captures Wildfire’s inane yet serious content to perfection.”


– Paula Citron

Awards

  • Centre du Thu00e9u00e2tre du2019Aujourd’huiu2019s Peopleu2019s Choice Dramatic Author of the Year 2017, Winner
  • Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards Outstanding Original Script 2019, Winner
  • Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Production and Outstanding New Play, General Theatre Division 2022, Winner
  • Excerpts & Samples ×

    Excerpt from Wildfire:

    CLAUDETTE is leaning over a crib. 

    CLAUDETTE
    MOM-MY… MOM-MY … Come on, that’s it. Open your mouth. MOM-MY… I know you want to. Yes you do! You want to talk to your dear MOM-MY! Yes you do! Say something to Mommy, Mommy, your dear Mommy who loves, loves, loves you!


    (she jumps) Oh! Yeah… That’s it… Open up… No barfing… No crying… Just say the word – 

    GABRIEL

    Mom-my…

    CLAUDETTE 

    Yes! Yes!

    GABRIEL

    When… I grow up… I am go-ing… to put you in… the fi-re.

    Excerpt from The Shoe:

    Helen, at reception, takes the top on and off a box.

    HELEN
    Peek-a-boo! Peek-a-boo! Peek-a-boo!

    She plays the game with joyful abandon. MELANIE and BENOIT enter.

    HELEN
    Hello! Come on in…

    (BENOIT sits and starts drawing. MELANIE comes over to the box. HELEN takes off the lid.)

    Peek-a-boo!

    (MELANIE can’t hide her disgust.)

    Ugly, isn’t he? I know he’s ugly! Just look how ugly he is! You’re ugly, oh yes you * are! So ugly, you’re beautiful! Last week I was walking by the pet store. The window * was full of them. They were all jumping around, like: “Pick me! Pick me! See, I’m adorable!” Bleagh. Is there anything more disgusting than cuteness? I took the little * reject at the back of the cage: the one missing a paw, a lot of fur, and half an ear. I named him Hercules. He deserves to be a hero, too.

    MELANIE
    Is it a dog or a cat?

    HELEN
    No clue! I should announce “Benoit and his mother”, right? How do I know? Because you’re our only appointment today.

    (intercom)

    “Benoit and his mother are here. Attention, please. Benoit and his mother are here.” I see that it’s your first time seeing––

    (She stops suddenly, really seeing MELANIE for the first time.)

    Oh… Are you all right?

    MELANIE
    Me? Fine. Why?

    HELEN

    (indicating MELANIE’s face)

    Because… that.

    MELANIE

    That?

    HELEN
    That face of yours… Tough morning?

    MELANIE
    Not at all. I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine.

    HELEN
    Saying things three times is never a good sign. May I offer you something to drink? Coffee? Tea? Martini? And you, Benoit? Would you like a glass of milk? Juice? Coke?

    MELANIE
    Coke? Before his check-up?

    HELEN
    Sure! He’s young, he should live a little. What’ll you have, Benoit? Benoit?

    MELANIE
    Benoit, the nice receptionist is talking to you…

    (No reaction.)

    Sorry, he blocks out the world when he’s drawing.

    HELEN
    Look at him. Like an angel.

    MELANIE

    Almost…

    HELEN
    So, this is your first appointment with us. Let’s start by opening a file for you. First question: do you have dental insurance?

    MELANIE
    I’m a custard worker at Donut Donut. I fill a doughnut with custard. Then I do it again. And again. And again.

    HELEN
    So, no insurance?

    MELANIE
    So, no insurance. Next question.

    HELEN
    No, that was it. You’re ready for the dentist.

    MELANIE
    Shh! Don’t say that word.

    HELEN
    Dentist? Why shouldn’t I say dentist?

    Benoit begins to do the Hissy Deluxe.

    MELANIE

    That’s why…

    HELEN
    Wow. Is that a dance?

    MELANIE
    No. It’s a meltdown. That’s the Hissy Deluxe. And this is the Epileptic King Kong.

    HELEN
    I could never get my elbows to do that. Should we move the furniture?

    MELANIE
    Nah. I’ve got this. Don’t worry: I’m an expert. Benoit? Benoit? Would you rather have a toothache for the rest of your life?

    (BENOIT nods.)

    No, you wouldn’t… Benoit, if we don’t take care of your teeth they’ll all fall out, and you’ll have to eat cream of broccoli morning, noon, and night. Is that what you

    want?

    (BENOIT nods.)

    No, it isn’t… Don’t make me say You-Know-What… Forgive me, but… Dentist! Dentist! Dentist! Den––

    SIMEON the dentist enters. He is partially mummified. BENOIT stops his tantrum immediately and stares at him, as if hypnotized.

    Reader Reviews

    Details

    Dimensions:

    144 Pages
    8.30in * 5.30in * .50in
    160.00gr
    .37lb

    Published:

    November 29, 2022

    ISBN:

    9780369104038

    Book Subjects:

    DRAMA / Canadian

    Featured In:

    All Books

    Language:

    fre

    eng

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