Cispersonnages en quête d’auteurice

In 2004, Joe Jack & John performed Quand j’étais un animal (Manuel de taxidermie) at a small Montreal venue, O Patro Vys. With its atypical cast and performative aesthetic, their wonderful, incongruous first show opened up a new space where seldom-heard voices rang out and an open-ended formal approach flourished. Scenographer and director Catherine Bourgeois, who remains at the helm of the company she co-founded 20 years ago, continues to cultivate this unique creative space that is always driven by the pursuit of the unique.

Each of Joe Jack & John’s multidisciplinary, collaborative stage projects reasserts its commitment to formal exploration and desire to reflect on the relationship with the other in today’s world. After Dis merci (2018), a gripping work that tackled the immigration crisis and the power dynamics that govern our social relations with a keen eye, the company further enhanced its approach by integrating some neurodivergent artists with whom it collaborates into its creative team. Most recently, the visual artist, poet, dancer, and actor Edon Descollines presented the multidisciplinary performance Le magasin ferme (2021), while the performer Michael Nimbley contributed Les Waitress sont tristes (2022).

Placing people at the heart of its artistic vision, Joe Jack & John continuously strives to equip both its administrative and creative structures with human and organizational resources that support seamless processes and genuinely inclusive works.