Vol. 7 No. 2 (Fall 1986)

HÉLÈNE BEAUCHAMP, Le Théâtre pour enfants au Québec: 1950-1980. Les Cahiers du Québec, Collection Littérature. Montréal, Editions Hurtubise HMH, 1985. Illus., Bibl., app., ind., 360 p.

Natalie Rewa

Theatre for young audiences in Canada has often been ignored as a form of theatre in its own right. Reduced to marginal status in comparison to adult theatre, it has often been analysed as an adjunct to another field such as education, sociology, or child psychology. The situation in Quebec scholarship has been similar, with only a handful of substantial studies in the last twenty years. Several government commissioned studies assessing the state and future of theatre for young audiences (TYA) in the province, four graduate theses and one volume exploring the relationship between children and theatre had appeared besides some critical commentary in journals and newspapers by 1980. The present study is the result of Hélène Beauchamp's many years of dedication to scholarship in this field. Beauchamp's commitment to TYA in Quebec has been demonstrated by her contribution of a chapter to Les Archives des lettres canadiennes (volume V) and to A Mirror of Our Dreams, and numerous articles to the theatre journal Jeu. She has also published two studies on the theory of TYA: Le Théâtre à la p'tite école and Les Enfants et le Jeu dramatique: Apprivoiser le théâtre (focusing on developmental drama). Moreover, as the editor of La Collection jeunes publics she has played an important role in documenting the development and production of significant scripts.

Beauchamp's study is the first to provide a coherent historical analysis of the crucial first thirty years of development, and to attempt to establish a critical approach to TYA. Her historical perspective serves to demonstrate the stability of TYA so that it can no longer be considered fringe theatre. She proposes that it deserves rigourous criticism in order to develop a theory reflecting its methods and aims. Having cast herself in the difficult role of theatre historian and theorist, she successfully remedies the paucity of both historical and critical commentary about TYA.

In designing her research she has made several significant choices. She has limited her study to professional theatre created by adults for children and purposely omitted a discussion of developmental drama. Moreover, Beauchamp has been highly selective in her choice of companies, limiting her commentary to those which have had an impact and have furthered the development of TYA. Her two main criteria for inclusion are the accessibility to audiences based on the number of performances, and secondly, the historical interest in the company's or artist's contribution. Consequently the volume is not a catalogue of activity, but rather a record of the search to develop a theatre appropriate for children.

Beauchamp acknowledges the difficulty inherent in the criteria she has chosen to use. By basing her research on successful productions, she accepts the assessment by adults, to a great extent, of a product not ultimately designed for them. She uses this seeming paradox to her advantage, discussing the development of theatre from a secondary position as theorist of theatre for children. This method allows her to call into question highly praised productions and analyse them according to criteria of theatre rather than the initial and simpler standard of the immediate reaction of the audience. Such bifocal analysis presents a record of significant activity and also encourages the reader to consider the success of these productions by articulated criteria of what is essential to TYA.

The organization of the volume reflects Beauchamp's commitment to the history and development of TYA. Her historical analysis is impressive in its appreciation of the complexities involved in developing a new form of theatre. The discussion is comprehensive without being slavishly bound to recording every detail. She chooses instead to complement the history with a sketch of the political, cultural and economic conditions in the province which fostered this theatre.

Beauchamp identifies 1950 to 1965 as the period during which the concept of TYA was being defined within the general explosion of professional theatre in Quebec. She documents the activities of such companies as les Compagnons de Saint-Laurent, les Apprentis-Sorciers, and la Roulotte. She discusses them in terms of their self-awareness as adult theatre professionals creating a new form of theatre. Beauchamp notes that the theatre community was unprepared for such theatre and consequently many different approaches were experimented with, most of which were highly derivative of other countries or other media. Similarly, the critics were equally unprepared to assess this new and complex theatre. Beauchamp shows that unfortunately their commentary was superficial and often unappreciative of the developments achieved by the artists.

The second period from 1965 to 1973 is characterized by an increasing awareness on the part of theatre professionals of the distinct nature of theatre for young audiences. Beauchamp records the growth in autonomy of companies away from their 'mother-companies'. This independence reflects the newly perceived definition of TYA as theatre which requires its own playwrights to express its themes and artists to develop its own theatricality. Beauchamp is careful to note that this evolution followed the new orientation of theatre in Quebec towards an indigenous repertoire. The establishment of organizations such as le Centre d'essai des auteurs dramatiques (CEAD) 1965 and l'Association québécoise du jeune théâtre (AQJT) in 1972 signalled the recognition of professional theatre artists in Quebec of the need for a forum to discuss their métier. TYA companies formed separate arms of these associations and this indicated acknowledgement of their autonomy and equality by their peers.

A series of workshops held in January 1973 marked the beginning of the third period of development. They were held under the auspices of C.E.A.D. and were chaired by Monique Rioux of the Théâtre de la Marmaille. The effect of these workshops was to redirect TYA research. From this time children became an integral part of script development. Companies began to create plays based on workshops with children in which they explored the needs and dramatic expressions of the appropriate age group. Companies sought to produce plays that had greater relevance to the audience and thus engaged their imaginations, emotions and provoked further thought. This period is characterized by the development of a great diversity of styles and choices of themes. Beauchamp also underlines the fact that during this period communication between companies grew. The result of this new network was the establishment of a children's theatre festival on an annual basis where common concerns could be discussed and experimental productions could be presented for peer criticism.

Beauchamp's historical review lays the foundation for her penetrating analysis of TYA. In the final chapters she proposes a working theory of TYA based on the issues raised throughout the theatre's development. She addresses the questions of form and content from the viewpoint of both audience and artists. She applies the same standards to all theatre whether participational, educational, political or recreational. This analysis provides the reader with a critical perspective that can be applied to evaluate past as well as current productions. Beauchamp invites her readers to do the same to encourage and promote excellence in TYA.

The volume is completed by two important appendices and a fine bibliography. The first appendix is a calendar of performances of all the seasons covered in this study. This record provides the reader with easily accessible information not only about the growth of TYA and the main organizers of each production, but also illustrates the gradual shift from scripts as adaptations in the early years, to the increased production of indigenous playwriting in later years. The second appendix documents grants to individual companies from both provincial and federal sources from 1973 to 1981. This material was extracted from Adrien Gruslin's study Le Théâtre et l'état au Québec and in fact points to the inclusion of TYA in research on the general conditions for theatre in the province. It is unfortunate that this information which is so interesting is left to the end of the volume and is not accompanied by much commentary introducing it, especially in a volume that has taken such pride in commenting so extensively on other documents.

Beauchamp's study is a substantial contribution to theatre history. It serves to rescue TYA in Quebec from marginal status; for the rest of Canada it reminds us that a comparable work of such scope has yet to be undertaken. Beauchamp has accomplished the difficult task of both recording history and developing a critical theory in one volume. In an eminently readable form she has educated her readers about the dynamic nature of TYA in Quebec.