About This Show
Théâtre français de Toronto introduces Gabriel Arcand, one of Québec’s major theatre artists, in a remarkable production of Le Professionnel by celebrated Serbian playwright Dusan Kovacevic. Gabriel Arcand, equally renowned for his roles on stage and in film, including films by his brother Denys, has won several Genies and is the co-founder of Groupe de la Veillée in Montréal, where this production originated.
Le Professionnel, a powerful text about totalitarianism and censorship, raises questions about the relationship between politics and artistic creation. The story takes place in Yugoslavia, under the Tito regime and in the years that followed. Teja, a dissident writer and publisher in Belgrade, is visited by a man he has never seen before, Luka, who appears in his office carrying a large suitcase. Luka is a “professional”: he has been in the secret police for thirty years. His mission was to shadow this intellectual with dangerous ideas, make note of his every single word and deliver this information to the Party. Today, the professional is forced to retire after a change in regime and he has come to settle things with Teja.
Dusan Kovacevic is considered one of the most important contemporary Serbian writers. He is widely known for his screenplay Underground, the Golden Palm winner at Cannes in 1995. Dusan Kovacevic has written twenty plays which have been translated in fifteen languages. Le Professionnel ran for twelve years in Belgrade, from 1990 to 2003.
