PRESS REVIEWS
What I wrote ten years ago still stands: this is a totally oddball story told in an irresistible way. André Laliberté's stage direction unfolds at an astounding pace […] There are some things that age better than others…
Michel Bélair, Le Devoir, February 20, 2012
(Translation: Denise Babin & Graham Soul)
La Félicité has enjoyed a distinguished journey since its premiere at the Maison Théâtre a dozen years ago, including a Canadian tour and a stop in New York as its English version (Dear Fizzy). One constant is undeniable: this "anti-fairy tale”, staged by André Laliberté with the help of Simon Boudreault, is still charming children and adults alike. With themes of tolerance, friendship and the acceptance of differences, this joyous play written by Boudreault – his first career immersion into the world of puppetry – proposes several smaller stories within one main plotline: the first about a fairy, then about a toad who loves a woman or the Great Fracasse and his travelling show with actors… who have disappeared. And yet the narrative thread remains clear and does not get muddled: each tale has its importance and its place at the heart of the main story.
David Lefebvre, Mon(Theatre).qc.ca, February 17, 2012
(Translation: Graham Soul)
Expert puppetry and kindly storytelling combine to deliver a message of friendship in an imperfect world in "Dear Fizzy"...
Lawrence Van Gelder, The New York Times, May 20, 2004
Inventive puppeteers perform dazzling show …Simon Boudreault (text), André Laliberté (direction), Marie-Pierre Simard (puppet creator) and Libert Subirana (music) with the help of Richard Lacroix's inventive fairy's den of a decor, pave the way for the puppeteers, including Simard, to execute a gentle, enjoyable story about the nature of family, belonging and true frienship.
Kathryn Greenaway, The Gazette, October 18, 2002
… l'équipe d'André Laliberté travaille avec le théâtre d'ombre … […] C'est une fort bonne idée, rendue de façon extrèmement efficace : les petits spectateurs ont été séduits par le procédé dans l'histoire mise en écran devant eux. La mise en scène d'André Laliberté est comme toujours follement soignée, les "effets spéciaux et accessoires" sont tout à fait réussis et encore une fois, l'imagination délirante souvent tétrahydro-cannabinolesque du Théâtre de l'Œil réussira à séduire les plus difficile.
Michel Bélair, Le Devoir, October 16, 2002
The story is told by means of numerous techniques, like a highly attractive shadow theatre and a three-dimensional book [...] And the magic works, thanks to a healthy pinch of humour that Simon Boudreault has sprinkled throughout this zany tale...
Catherine Hébert, Voir, October 10-16, 2002
[...] the story line of the show remains lucid. The characterisation of the personages is strong and clear, without locking the oddball characters into exaggerated stereotypes.
The production succeeds in captivating the spectators by a clever marriage of traditional and new techniques. The 5 to 10 year-olds seem equally impressed by the screen which is transformed into a mini puppet theatre and by the good old animated book whose pages tell the terrible adventures of Fracasse and his circus animals.
Ève Dumas, La Presse, October 5th, 2002
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