Frédérique Cournoyer Lessard
SCUSE
Canada
Frédérique Cournoyer Lessard has performed internationally with renowned Canadian companies such as The 7 Fingers and Cirque Éloize, and has also made a name for themself as a filmmaker. In 2021, they created their first stage work, SCUSE – a pioneering piece in what has become known in Québec as “documentary circus”.
In SCUSE, Frédérique combines informal conversations with acrobatic scenes, drawing on fragments from their own childhood and youth that shaped their perception of femininity and sexuality. In close symbiosis with an aerial hoop, Frédérique explores how binary patterns of upbringing shape power relations in the adult world.
From six autobiographical moments – including a casual comment in the schoolyard, a sentence spoken by their mother about Frédérique’s first name, a pop song by the Spice Girls and a whispered remark by a coach – an intense mosaic emerges, revealing the subtle mechanisms of social conditioning.
Dates and Information:
Theater Next Liberty:
4 & 5 August / 7:30 PM
Duration: 65'
Recommended for ages 12 and up | in English
With the kind support of the Kulturstiftung Klinger.
Credits:
Author-performer | Frédérique Cournoyer Lessard
Co-creator | Laurie-Anne Langis
Acrobatic choreographer | Nadia Richer
Sound design | Boris Billier
Light and technical director | Rodolphe St-Arneault & Geneviève Jacob
Booking | Justine Méthé-Crozat
Trailer – SCUSE:
Additional credits:
Funding from Canada: MONTREAL ARTS COUNCIL | QUEBEC ARTS AND LETTERS COUNCIL | CANADIAN ARTS AND LETTERS COUNCIL | EN PISTE - NATIONAL CIRCUS ARTS ASSOCIATION | QUEBEC INTERNATIONAL YOUTH OFFICES
European Co-production: LA GRAINERIE - Balma, France | ESPACE PÉRIPHÉRIQUE - LA VILLETTE - City of Paris, France | UP - CIRCUS & PERFORMING ARTS - Brussels, Belgium
Partners in Canada: THÉÂTRE LACHAPELLE | LA SERRE - ARTS VIVANTS | TOHU | MICC | THÉÂTRE DESJARDINS | QUAI 5160
Partners in Europe: LATITUDE 50 - CENTER FOR CIRCUS AND STREET ARTS - Marchin, Belgium
La Strada Graz
31. Juli–8. August 2026
Opernring 12 / A-8010 Graz
Telefon: +43 316 26 97 89
info@lastrada.at
www.lastrada.at
INFORMATIONEN: +43 316 26 97 89