A World Premiere Production at Centaur Theatre
Swashbuckling
Written by Federico Verdier Diaz & Olivier Blais
Directed by Catherine Savoie
In a suburban basement, two brothers fight. They fight as a joke, they fight as a game and they fight as a way to resolve conflict. Through their fighting, we hear words from Shakespeare, Homer, Dumas, Dostoevsky and many other classical authors. It’s as if their story has been in writing for ages, carving out what it means to be a man and how the answer is to fight.
Also known as “De cape et d’épée”, Swashbuckling is a new two person play that speaks about the perpetuation of male violence told through classical texts and involving multiple styles of stage fighting. What is it about masculinity that is so tied to violence, blood and death? How does this get transmitted? Men aren’t inherently born with a desire to die, but ask the men around you and a good chunk of them will tell you that they have daydreamed about sacrificing themselves for a cause, ending up with a bloody nose because they stood against a bully or dying in a school shooting after they single-handedly proved their worth by taking down the shooter. It would be foolish to believe that this violence comes out of nowhere. Violence has always been taught as a language to young boys and men. One need only look at all the instances of glorious combat found in hundreds of years of western theatre and literature. This violence has been taught again and again as the best way for men to communicate. So faced with such an ancient tradition, what are we to do?
Swashbuckling will be presented at Centaur Theatre in December 2026 with alternating French and English performances.
Our society is at a critical juncture when it comes to violence. On March 25th, a report from Montreal’s public health authorities came out about violence being on the rise amongst teenagers. Men are more likely to be both victims and perpetrators of violence, and the rate is getting higher. Is violence the first language taught to young boys and men?
Swashbuckling
Team 2026
Cast
Noah Labranche
Olivier Blais
Creative team
Lead writer | Federico Verdier Diaz
Writer | Olivier Blais
Director | Catherine Savoie
Fight Choreographer | Erin Eldershaw
Set and costume design | Pen Tsin
