amilton de azevedo writes about Extérieur/nuit, by Le Théâtre indépendant (Canadá), premiered in the 2025 Festival TransAmériques (FTA – Tiohtià:ké/Montreal). this text is part of a special coverage; the critic traveled to Canada at the invitation of the FTA.

Not all those who wander are lost. But some of them are. Extérieur/nuit brings in its name the setting for the encounters of three creatures of the night, living through their own particular miseries and lonelinesses. As the plot written by JJ Houle unveils, tragic outcomes are more and more just around the corner – or, better, by the river. When the audience’s bluish service lights are turned off and the show is about to begin, the public is blinded by reflectors pointed at them. As if Le Théâtre indépendant knows that the spectators eyes must be awakened for what is to come.

When the stage is seen, the work of Léo Gaudreault (set design), Flavie Lemée (light design) and Antoine Racine (sound design) announces themselves as equal as the direction of Charles Voyer, the text of Houle and the performance of Gwendoline Côté, Aline Winant and Voyer. As Gaudreault mentions in the interview for the FTA, “besides the plot, it’s meant to create a mood”: this intention is crystal clear since the first images of Extérieur/nuit. A sculptural smoke, illuminated by an actual-sized street lamp, reveals a floating body engulfed in its density. It is such a powerful statement that makes one wonder what is coming next. And, as announced in its synopsis, Le Théâtre indépendant “delivers a disconcerting experience”.

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Extérieur/nuit makes a technically perfect use of artifices to build and sustain their desired atmospheres. It is noticeable how every layer of the work is being presented as intended – not only lightning, soundscape, sound effects and the almost-magical devices, but also the precise interpretation of Côté, Voyer and Winant. As a relatively new collective, founded in 2018, Théâtre indépendant seems fierce and convinced on their principles regarding ethical and aesthetical values – this can be noted by reading the company website and comparing to what they made of Extérieur/nuit.

At the same time, following the words of Houle before the premiere of the play in this year’s FTA, as a research, avant-garde company, there is an openness intrinsec to their work. Even though Extérieur/nuit presents itself “ready”, it seems that performing it can reveal, through public reaction, some subtle issues regarding their choices. Somehow, the noir thriller atmosphere that is intended sometimes dissipates itself – it may not be a problem on its own, but dosing the disconcerting humour present in some moments appears to be a real challenge.

Oscillating between a realistic setting and interpretation and nightmare-like moments, Extérieur/nuit also aims to bring up intérieur/nuit – the night of the interiorities of such misfits, deviated, marginalized characters. Naturalistic set elements, such as a working sink, a playable CD player, the aforementioned street lamp and traffic lights, coexist with delayed, distorted and modulated voices, abstract and illusionist compositions. Houle’s dramaturgy also amalgamates the characters fragile (or disturbed) consciousness through some kind of philosophical enlightenment, dwelling on beautifully crafted poetic moments.

By attempting to horizontalize all the elements, their balance is constantly unstable. It is quite interesting when they shift from consonance to dissonance and vice-versa. On the other hand, Extérieur/nuit faces some moments where the overlapping results on a reiterance. For instance, when the imagethical composition is underlining the speech of a character. It is sort of a leap of faith – and also an exercise on detachment – to trust the impact of a single element amidst such intricate theatricality.