The NTE transforms the Espace Libre play area into a real interior garden, where the public can move freely. Jardin is a modern fable imbued with tender and insolent humor, which shakes our certainties and invites us to renew our view of the living.
A profusion of plants inhabit the space; scents, colors, textures and volumes invite you to take a stroll. Through the ferns, black spruces and mint, emerge Adam and Eve (Lyndz Dantiste and Christine Beaulieu). Driven out of the original paradise, they reappear in Montreal, in the heart of the Centre-Sud district. They fall in love and move into an apartment from where they observe their neighbor, a taciturn gardener (Peter Trosztmer). Little by little, the presence of the plant world, powerful and mysterious, will put their fragile and mortal existence in crisis.
With Jardin, the NTE reaffirms its desire to question living art and renew its methods of meeting the public. After Animals (NTE 2016) and Babies (NTE 2019), which already questioned the notion of presence on stage, Daniel Brière joins forces with Evelyne de la Chenelière to offer an immersive and poetic experience, where plant life deploys its quiet force and permeates the entire system. Abundant like an ivy, the author’s playful and terribly lucid writing is tinged with this plant universe. This project also constitutes a fertile field of research for the director, who here finds material to explore atypical forms with his researcher’s eye, far from any monoculture. Inspired by regenerative design, Jardin seeks to weave lasting links between people, their environment and their community. For the sake of dialogue with the territory, the tandem of creators has surrounded itself with partners committed to the life of the Centre-Sud district in order to anchor the show in its environment and celebrate the soil where it takes root. So, this garden will not just be a decoration. It will be composed of native plants chosen with and for the residents of the neighborhood, with the aim of them being redistributed to them at the end of the performances. It is a concrete gesture of greening and reciprocity, at the very heart of the artistic approach. Remember that, since 2018, the NTE has produced all its shows in an eco-responsible way. The performers of the piece each maintain a strong connection to the earth and the territory, nourishing an organic and evolving creative process, like a garden. We can say, with a touch of humor, that this is the largest cast in the history of the NTE: this trio in fact shares the stage with around sixty plant species, or around 1,700 perennial and native plants of Quebec.
The NTEFounded in 1979, the Nouveau Théâtre Expérimental is a key player in the Quebec theater landscape. After more than 45 years of all-out creation and 125 original plays, the company continues a constant process of renewing theatrical forms and exploring new aesthetics. It embodies a unique place of freedom, a laboratory where it is possible to react to dominant trends, to escape the zeitgeist for a moment and to offer an atypical counterpoint. Daniel Brière and Alexis Martin are now the artistic directors of the NTE, continuing the work of the founders, notably Jean-Pierre Ronfard and Robert Gravel. The NTE is a founding and resident company of the Espace Libre theater, a place it has lived in since its beginnings. Among the company’s recent works, we find The Virus and the Prey, Keraouc, 100 Years on the Go!, A Conjuring, Crying and The Empire of the Beaver.
The fruitful artistic collaboration between Daniel Brière and Evelyne de la Chenelière, within the NTE, also gave birth to singular and daring works, including Henri et Margaux (2002), Ronfard nude in front of his mirror (2011) and September (2015).
Finally, let us emphasize that the author is having a particularly prosperous year, marked, among other things, by the staging of her play Lumières, Lumières, Lumières at the Comédie-Française. She also received the Grand Prix du livre de Montréal last December for her collection of short stories, Les traits difficile.
GardenFrom September 8 to 26, 2026 at the Espace Libre theaterText: Evelyne de la ChenelièreDirection and regenerative design: Daniel BrièreCast: Christine Beaulieu, Lyndz Dantiste and Peter TrosztmerAssisted director: Alexandra SuttoGardener: Augustin BinetteCostumes: Ginette NoiseuxLighting: Lucie BazzoSound design: Jérôme MinièreMakeup and hairstyles: Véronique St-GermainDirector: Alexandra Sutto, Jean GaudreauTechnical direction: Clara Desautels, Rébecca BrouillardAgricultural advice: Gabriel HaccounEco-design and regenerative design advice: Marianne Lavoie (Écoscéno)A production of the Nouveau Théâtre ExpérimentalIn collaboration with the Ecocitizen Society of Montreal, the Montreal Botanical Garden, Écomusée du fier monde, Lespacemaker, Urban Trail and Cultural Routes of the Faubourgs. Presented with the support of Caisse de la Culture Desjardins Arrondissement Ville-Marie The text of Garden, signed Evelyne de la Chenelière, is published by Éditions Herbes Rouges (in bookstores from September 4, 2026 and on sale at the Espace Libre theater). Schedule: Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Duration: 1 hour Standing show – free circulation in the room during the performance.A few benches will be made available to the public.People with mobility limitations are invited to contact the Espace Libre box office to ensure a suitable welcome.Jardin is part of the Mythology show series from the Espace Libre theater, presented in fall 2026.
Activities related to Garden: • Saturday, September 12: free child care at the theater • Wednesday, September 16: post-show discussion • Thursday, September 17: NTE benefit performance • Saturday, September 19: relaxed + family performance *The relaxed performance offers a more flexible setting with regard to noise, movement and movement in the theater to better accommodate people with specific needs. It is aimed at everyone; among others, to people with a sensory or intellectual disability, or a neurological or learning disorder. People with babies are also welcome.