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Culture Theatre

La Sagouine

LA SAGOUINE by Antonine Maillet, translated by Luis de Céspedes (Pleiades). At the Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley). To May 29 (in English) May 31-June 5 (in French). $12-$37. 416-368-3110. See ­Continuing. Rating: NNN


La Sagouine offers up many rich- es, including a peek into Acadian life via its best-known writer, and a bravura performance by Viola Léger, the actor and former senator who, at 80, has performed the solo show more than 2,000 times.[rssbreak]

Too bad it’s not a bit more theatrical.

The title character is a stooped-over, dirt-poor washerwoman who’s married to the crusty Gapi, given birth to 12 children (three of whom lived), survived wars and, from her small village near Moncton, witnessed the deaths of fishermen at sea.

The show is more storytelling than drama – not surprising since it originated in 16 radio plays by Antonine Maillet. The five tales are heavy on ambience, cultural detail and humour (Sagouine’s malapropisms include “circumscription” for “conscription”), light on narrative and character. What happened to those three children? We never find out.

Maillet is going for the universal archetype of the matriarchal survivor. And director John Van Burek suggests that in François Barbeau’s beautifully ragged costumes and Yannik Larivée’s naturalistic set – complete with rocking chair, table and washing pail.

The gleaming-eyed Léger imparts a lifetime of experience, knowing – especially in the superior final story about the coming of spring – how to squeeze every ounce of poetry from a line or phrase.

She performs in English until May 29, then continues in French until June 5. I wish the production had been in French with English surtitles, so even anglophones could savour the salty nuances of La Sagouine’s dialect, which is a crucial part of her life and story.

glenns@nowtoronto.com

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