The Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines is proud to present the outlines of its 2026-2027 season, the last shaped by Olivier Bertrand before his departure; artistic direction will then be taken over by Fabien Marcil. Anchored in the turbulence of our time, this program takes a lucid but resilient look at our common future, mobilizing alternative stage writing to transform collective anxiety into forces of reconstruction and resistance. An artistic journey that reflects the organization’s mandate: great diversity in artistic practices and themes, which transcends disciplinary boundaries.
The season’s visual is signed by Julien Posture, an illustrator who creates images about society and a researcher who writes about the social life of images. He holds a PhD in anthropology from the University of Cambridge, where he studied human and machine ways of perceiving style in the creative industry.
On August 26 and 27, Les Salons Acoustiques in collaboration with Coup de cœur francophone will open the season with two evenings: one in the company of Virginie B, the other with Antoine Corriveau. An invitation to listen to today’s music differently, in an intimate and refined experience, without microphones or speakers, as close as possible to the artists.
From September 8 to 15, for its 10th anniversary, La Fratrie will unveil Alex Trahan’s new creation, Our Furious Hopes, a multidisciplinary show that will explore the following question: How to cultivate hope in a world that is collapsing? Six performers on stage strive to find the answer, transforming our collective paralysis into creative energy.
From September 23 to 26, Catherine Gaudet will present a ghostly choreography, Hors-d’oeuvre, the first solo by dancer James Phillips, which is built on the contrast between dreams and the cruelty of reality.
From September 30 to October 3, then in March, Le Vivier will offer a series of new music concerts.
From October 7 to 10, the group LiY (Laurence Dauphinais, Simon Stephens and Christian Lapointe) will delve into the nostalgia of moments past while embracing the possibilities of the future with its musical show Songs for telescope which we will co-present with the Phénomena Festival. The first part of the show will be provided by Joël Lavoie.
From October 16 to 24, Hôtel-Motel productions (Klervi Thienpont, Philippe Ducros and Marie-Christine André) will highlight Breathing Under Water, a theatrical and sound work around the restoration of hope.
From November 5 to 7, After the Flood, a creation by Sébastien Provencher and Julia Laperrière that we will co-present with the young audience festival La Mèche Courte, will feature two humanoids who cautiously and clumsily discover the complex laws of a bizarre, geometric, black and white world populated by mysterious boxes.
From November 11 to 13, the Catalan company Losinformalls will come from Spain with PERDÓN, presented as part of Série B in partnership with DLD, a piece that explores the limits of: artistic creation; dance; the freedom of the actor on stage and his relationship with the audience; discomfort, but also elastics.
From November 18 to 21, Mani Soleymanlou and Valaire will be back with Zamân or we have the same time that we had, a show produced by the company Orange Noyée which explores time, memory, mourning, vulnerability, but also the way in which our personal stories resonate with those of the world.
From December 14 to 18, through expanded choreography and embodied practices, Lilia Mestre will explore with KiT! how an intimate reconnection to everyday materials and their invisible stories can revive curiosity, emotional engagement and ecological awareness. From January 11 to 15, Thomas Lapointe will offer About Cruising: Lines of Desire, a scenic poem that highlights the psychic and physical impacts of the queer and transgressive practice of cruising. This poetic reflection will explore anonymous desire and the fine line between excitement and disgust. In January and February, three English-speaking companies will set up at La Chapelle. Imago Théâtre will present Akuteu, which traces a journey through stories where a young Innu woman tries to integrate into a predominantly white society, questioning the contradictions that shape her identity, her legitimacy to speak on behalf of her people and the responsibility that this implies. For their part, Infinithéâtre and Talisman will offer NOLI (written by Virginie Daigle and translated by Alexis Diamond), which explores the themes of sexuality, intimacy and the search for one’s authentic self. The intention is to demonstrate the importance of open and honest communication, setting boundaries, and seeking experiences that align with one’s values and desires.
From March 22 to 25, Thea Patterson will present SLAB, a lament, an invocation and a farewell. In this work, a solo performer and a single table engage in a deep listening relationship as they develop an undulating, sensual and hypnotic lament.
From April 8 to 11, Danse-Cité will present Tendres Façons, a solo by dancer Sovann Rochon-Prom Tep. On this occasion, La Chapelle will once again partner with Danse-Cité to offer a performance with audio description accessible to blind or semi-visual people.
From April 19 to 23, Gabriel Dharmoo will invite us with Sugar Music to consider sound on another frequency and to demonstrate the same discernment when listening as when tasting.
In collaboration with the Accès Asia Festival in May, Charles Gao and Jon Lachlan Stewart will unfold Welcome to the Digital Desert, an absurdist piece combining break, theater, poetry and movement. Then, Philip Nozuka will feature a performer and his kuroko (his assistant) who practice a ritual to commemorate their ancestors and create new rites to honor and meet those who preceded them in Ikebanapapa, a multimedia performance. In the spring, Ellen Furey and Hanako Hoshimi-Caines, in Chopped Up Mountain 伝承, will let the felt and imagined reconversion of their ancestral lines be the means by which they intensify their sense of belonging to this world and beyond. In July, the season will conclude with L’Autre Cirque, an event co-presented with TOHU as part of MONTRÉAL COMPLÈTEMENT CiRQUE. A celebration of the hybridization of genres, where circus forms unfold in unexpected directions.