Fifteen Stories, One Unforgettable Production: Les Belles-Sœurs at The Gladstone

One kitchen. Fifteen stories. Phoenix Players’ production of Michel Tremblay’s Les Belles-Sœurs provides a vibrant, comedic, and dark interpretation of the Québécois classic.

Phoenix Players Ottawa began performances of Les Belles-Sœurs on Friday, November 21, and will be running until November 29 at The Gladstone Theatre.

The set, designed by Lorraine Hopkins, does a remarkable job at creating a world that feels lived-in and authentic to the Montreal working-class in the 60s. The staging and design choices illustrate themes of claustrophobia and tension.

Germaine Lauzon’s kitchen is cluttered and visually overwhelming, with a maze of chairs and stacks of boxes busting at the seams with stamps.

The tight space forces characters into intimate proximity, heightening both the comedic bickering and betrayal. During monologues, the lighting shifts, isolating each woman in a jarring glow that reveals the loneliness and longing that line their confident facades.

Fifteen women, total, parade through this kitchen and transform it into a whirlwind of perspective and lived experience. Each with their own burdens, desires, and frustrations, but weaving together in a heartbreaking portrait of womanhood.

As the first English run of the play since 1984, the Phoenix Players’ interpretation of the show seamlessly caters to the English-speaking audience, while preserving the integrity of spoken rhythm from Tremblay’s original script.

Instead of restructuring the show into full standard English, the actors adopt a distinct Québécois-inflected accent, allowing non-French-speaking audiences to follow the narrative while feeling the texture and identity of the play’s roots.

The accent inclusion honours the lived experience of Tremblay’s characters, who are women whose voices were historically marginalized. The cast embodies the chaotic personalities of these characters and the devastating realities women faced in the 1960s.

At the centre of the production is Germaine Lauzon, played by Vivian Beck, who possesses a captivating blend of energy and pride. Beck’s performance switches between showcasing Germaine’s stubbornness and wide-eyed enthusiasm.

Her natural chemistry with ValYa Budko, who plays Linda Lauzen, is lively and tense, replicating a true relationship between mother and daughter.

A standout performance in the production is Jake Blair’s portrayal of Rose Ouimet. Rose is a strong and deliberate character, always directing the room and demanding order. Blair’s range as a performer captures Rose’s complexities as a bold, yet secretly frightened character.

Although Blair maintains a fiery, authoritative delivery in most of her scenes, her monologue reveals a completely different side to the character. The monologue is raw, vulnerable, and paradoxical in its portrayal of Rose’s emotional fragility.

A defining strength of this production is the emotional arc of the group scenes. Moments of laughter and joyful chaos are immediately undercut by moments of tension, gossip, and resentment.

Some scenes become genuinely uncomfortable to watch, and it’s in these moments that the audience seems to lean in rather than pull away.

Sandra McNeill’s yearning monologue as Des-Neiges Verette evokes what can almost be considered a painfully cringe feeling, but in a way that makes the audience pity Des-Neiges and her desperation for love.

This production demonstrates that Tremblay’s story is not only about petty jealousy but about the structural pressures that drive women to compete, complain, and collapse under the weight of societal expectations and unfulfilled dreams.

The Phoenix Players’ Les Belles-Sœurs delivers a sharp and heartfelt take on Tremblay’s classic. The production is a lively reminder of why Les Belles-Sœurs continues to resonate, because beneath the drama and comedy lies the pressures shaping women’s lives.

There are still some tickets available for purchase on the Phoenix Players Website.

Photos: Allie Cruzado