Théâtre La Belle Gang

A Little History

With the goal of breaking the silence, eliminating the fear and learning to just say “no!” a wise but still wild group of seniors gathered to start the “Abuse Exposed” project. They also wanted to fulfill their long-time desire to perform.

The objectives of this project are many: to break the silence regarding elder abuse and to make seniors realize that they are sometimes victims, perhaps more than they realize; to ensure the younger audience realizes that they may well be witnesses to abusive situations and encourage them to respect their elders; and also, to denounce the child-like treatment seniors are often subjected to by those around them and suggest tools they can use to better assert themselves.

But how could all these goals be reached? By creating an original play featuring seniors!

This is how the French version of Grandpa is not a Cashcow and Grandma won’t take any Bull was born, in the town of Lachute, in the spring of 2011. The show was performed five times and the success was immediate and much bigger than expected. Other communities learned about its success and asked to have it performed in their towns. To appeal to a wider audience, an English version of the play was created in 2013. Because the troupe wanted to continue to travel throughout the province with the plays, and had the ambition to have more productions to offer, the non-profit organisation Théâtre La Belle Gang was officially created in 2014, with the mission to heighten the awareness of the population to particular problems via socially conscious theatre. 

The plays are available in French and in English (the English version of La Pension Auclair is presently in pre-production and will be available soon) and were performed, all together, more than 70 times!

All shows are followed by a discussion with the public to hear their experiences. Representatives of different organizations and associations from the community are also present to detail the services which are available to residents of the region.