Les Métamorphoses Clandestines - Louise Bédard Danse (1992) © Yves Dubé
Hamlet director's cut - Marc Beaupré (2016-2017) © Benoit Beaupré
La Chapelle, 35 years of creation
Located just steps from the bustling Boulevard Saint-Laurent, in the heart of Montreal, La Chapelle was founded in 1990. It is at once a creative space, a performance venue, and an organization dedicated to promoting the performing arts, supporting emerging artists and interdisciplinary and alternative forms.
La Chapelle's programming offers French and English theatre, contemporary dance, performance art, circus arts, music, and multidisciplinary works that transcend art forms.
35 years in a few words
Founded by Richard Simas in May 1990, Théâtre La Chapelle quickly gained recognition for its contribution to the emergence of a generation of artists with hybrid practices, previously considered unclassifiable and rarely presented. This marked the beginning of growing public recognition.
In 2007, Jack Udashkin took over and breathed new life into the theatre, as La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines underwent an unprecedented transformation. It adopted a radical strategy to follow the wave of one of the most creative new contemporary scenes. By implementing innovative management in tune with the new realities of the cultural sector, La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines continued to challenge performance conventions. Dance became prominent, contemporary circus made its entrance, and interdisciplinarity, this space of freedom inherent to the spirit of the venue, continued to assert itself.
In 2015, a third era began for La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines with the appointment of Olivier Bertrand. Strong from its quarter-century of youthful experience, La Chapelle opened up to a broad international network and established unprecedented modes of collaboration.
The mandate continues with strength and conviction, infusing a lively and innovative spirit into the performing arts landscape, in Montreal and far beyond. The creation of new audience development programs allows unprecedented and inclusive access to an ever-expanding and diversifying audience.
To better align with its mandate and the multiple artistic disciplines it presents, La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines adopted this name, replacing Théâtre La Chapelle.