''The Anorak'' is a play by

Adam Kelly Adam Kelly Morton (1973-), also known as Adam Kelly, is a Canadian actor, writer, producer and teacher. Background Born in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce district of Montreal, Kelly grew up in Pierrefonds. He first began stage acting while attendin ...

about the

École Polytechnique massacre École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

and the life and death of

Marc Lépine Marc Lépine (; born October 26, 1964 – December 6, 1989) was a Canadian antifeminist mass murderer from Montreal, Quebec, who, in 1989, murdered fourteen women, and wounded ten women and four menNote: Many sources state thirteen were wounded ...

. It is a 90-minute

dramatic monologue Dramatic monologue is a type of poetry written in the form of a speech of an individual character. M.H. Abrams notes the following three features of the ''dramatic monologue'' as it applies to poetry: Types of dramatic monologue One of the mo ...

told from the killer's point of view. In the performances, audience members are separated between men and women, with the actor speaking to the men exclusively for the first 80 minutes. Only during the detailed description of the massacre are the women in the audience addressed. After each performance, Kelly would hold an optional forum with the audience to discuss issues brought up in the play, including

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...

and

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...

. Although the play caused controversy, particularly in French-language media, it has been critically acclaimed, and was awarded a Montreal English Critics Circle Award (MECCA). A French translation of the play, by Geneviève Charbonneau, premiered at

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxemb ...

Québec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is the ...

in 2008, with Gaétan Rancourt in the lead role, and Kelly acted in the French version for the 20th anniversary of the massacre at

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

. For his work on ''The Anorak'', Kelly was recruited to collaborate with

Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve (; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian filmmaker. He is a four-time recipient of the Canadian Screen Award (formerly Genie Award) for Best Direction, winning for '' Maelström'' in 2001, '' Polytechnique'' in 2009, ''Incendies ...

on his film '' Polytechnique''. Productions have taken place in Montreal, Toronto, and London, with the play's

Off West End Off West End refers to theatres in London which are not included as West End theatres. The term is a relatively recent one, coined after the similar American term "off-Broadway" (though without the same strict definition). It is usually used synony ...

premiere taking place at

The Lion & Unicorn Theatre ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

in Camden in 2013, with Felix Brunger in the lead role and directed by Matthew Gould. The play was remounted in Montreal for the 25th anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre, with Kelly performing.

References

Plays for one performer Quebec plays Plays set in Montreal Plays based on actual events Violence against women in Canada {{2000s-play-stub