The Stepmother
Poets and performers Rachel McCrum and Amelie Provost present their critically acclaimed show La Belle-mère (The Stepmother) — performed outside Canada for the very first time.
The final stop on a national tour that includes Manchester Poetry Festival and StAnza, we are delighted to welcome international poets and performers Rachel McCrum and Amelie Provost to Norwich.
They present their critically acclaimed show La Belle-mère (The Stepmother) — performed outside Canada for the very first time.
A sharp feminist critique of bodies, the maternal, and identity-making that beautifully uses language in a searing analysis of what makes up this thing we call womanhood. Poignant, sharp, and a personal take on feminist writing and histories.
Through a dynamic suite of narrative poems performed live on stage, McCrum and Prévost examine the challenges, responsibilities, stakes and freedoms of an often misunderstood familial role:
In the aftermath of a crisis within her blended family, a stepmother weighs up her choices, past, present, and future. Fragment by fragment, she pieces together her story, with the honesty of a woman with everything to lose and everything to gain. Using words as a mirror, she tries to see herself as she is, not in the eyes of the society around her, but in the eyes of those who love her and who she loves.
This special Norwich edition features a 40-minute abridged performance, followed by a conversation with the creators exploring writing for the stage, step-parenting, and challenges to the idea of the nuclear family. The event will also include an audience Q&A and the opportunity to purchase the bilingual print edition of the show.
Main image © Claude La Chance
The move towards honesty and openness about the tough realities of stepparenting is exactly what makes La Belle-mère (The Stepmother) a celebration of this often demonized familial role…both on the page and the stage, this is a feminist project.
With thanks to Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec for financial support in the form of two Research & Creation grants.
Adding People to a Family Isn’t a Minus with Rachel McCrum & Amelie Provost
Rachel McCrum and Amelie Provost feature on the Getting Lit with Linda Podcast, where they discuss the figure of the stepmother and how that role is represented in literature.
Listen here
Exploding Archetypes with Rachel McCrum & Amélie Prévost
As part of a collaboration with Quebec City of Literature, Rachel and Amelie will perform as part of a week-long residency at NCW where they’ll also be running a workshop and exploring Norwich’s UNESCO status.
Their workshop will explore what unfolds when you flip expectations of character, narrative, and process.
Whether you work in prose or poetry, this is an excellent opportunity to connect with other writers and experiment with working collaboratively.
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