Benoit Mcginnis launches 78e saison with Cyrano de Bergerac
benoit mcginnis unveiled his first season as artistic director of the Théâtre du Rideau Vert, and he is opening the 78e saison on 23 septembre with Cyrano de Bergerac. The programming puts actors first, then builds around them: Charlotte Aubin, Justin Simon, Anne-Élisabeth Bossé, Éric Bruneau, Julie Le Breton and Élise Guilbault are all attached to key titles.
He framed the season around major repertoire works and performers, saying: “J’ai envie d’offrir au public des rencontres électrisantes avec des partitions marquantes du répertoire, québécois et international, campées par des bêtes de scène”. For his first program, that means a lineup that moves from Rostand to Ibsen to a Quebec title and a return engagement for a show that has already earned a place in the house.
Cyrano on 23 septembre
On 23 septembre, McGinnis will open the season by playing Cyrano de Bergerac, a choice he said he had already proposed in his application to succeed Denise Filiatrault. “C’est ma manière de dire bienvenue au public,” he said. The production will use Edmond Rostand’s text in a shorter version directed by René Richard Cyr, with Charlotte Aubin as Roxane and Justin Simon as Christian.
McGinnis also called the role an anticasting. “C’est Guy Nadon, Patrice Robitaille, Albert Millaire… Des gars avec une forte stature ! Or, je suis intéressé par l’humanité, la relation touchante du trio formé par Cyrano, Christian et Roxane.” That approach puts the acting triangle at the center of the season opener, not a monument to the title character.
Motel Hélène and Le Dieu du carnage
For Motel Hélène, McGinnis phoned Anne-Élisabeth Bossé to ask her to play Johanne, and she accepted immediately. Bossé then suggested Olivier Arteau as director, giving the production its first Rideau Vert assignment. McGinnis said he built parts of the season from performers he wanted onstage, and this one pairs a familiar actor with a first-time director in the room.
Éric Bruneau took that same route after a coffee with McGinnis, choosing Le Dieu du carnage by Yasmina Reza. Serge Denoncourt will stage it, with Marilyn Castonguay, Patrick Hivon and Julie Le Breton in the cast. It is the kind of ensemble booking that gives the season commercial ballast: recognizable names, a known title and a director who can handle sharp conversational pressure without softening it.
Hedda Gabler in January 2027
In January 2027, Sophie Cadieux will stage Hedda Gabler, with Rachel Graton in the title role and a contemporary adaptation by Patrick Marber in a translation by Fanny Britt. McGinnis said, “Ce n’est pas une réécriture. C’est l’œuvre d’Ibsen avec la couleur d’aujourd’hui”. Cadieux had wanted to mount the play for 10 to 15 ans, which makes the booking feel less like a slot on a calendar than a project finally getting its runway.
Revue et corrigée will also get a new breath in 2026, with Léane Labrèche-Dor directing and Élise Guilbault returning as maître de cérémonie after 15 years away from the stage. For the Rideau Vert, that return is the sharpest signal in the season: McGinnis is not just filling a first year, he is using it to reset the theatre around performers who can carry repertory, draw audiences and keep the house’s identity legible from one title to the next.
