Interview with Eda Holmes, the Centaur Theatre’s Artistic Director

Delving into the artistic side of Montreal’s culture, Eda Homes, the Artistic and Executive Director of the Centaur Theatre Company, not only crafts captivating narratives, but has forged an inspiring career in her field. In order to give students the opportunity to learn more about the world on and off the stage, Ms. Homes accepted to partake in an interview.

Could you quickly present yourself and your career path? 

“I began my life in art as a dancer. I studied ballet from the age of 4 and by the time I was 17 I was an apprentice in the San Francisco Ballet. I danced there for several years then moved to Europe to dance with the Dutch National Ballet and the Frankfurt Ballet. As my career went along, I became more and more interested in how stories are told and when I injured my knee at the age of 30 I decided to go back to school and study theatre. I was lucky enough to be accepted to the National Theatre School of Canada’s Directing program and that was the beginning of my career in Canadian theatre. It was a fantastic program and I met many of the artists I still work with today while I was studying there. After several years working as a free-lance director on mostly new plays, I wanted to have the chance to work on more classic material and applied to the Intern Director program at the Shaw Festival in Ontario. I was accepted and began working there regularly until 2010 when I was offered the position of Associate Artistic Director. That was a wonderful chance to learn more about what it takes to be an Artistic Director and led to me applying for my current job with Centaur Theatre. I started here in 2017.”

What led you to become an artistic Director? 

“I love directing and I wanted to find a way to expand on the work that I do in the rehearsal hall. An Artistic Director is responsible for creating an artistic vision for an institution that takes both the artists and the audience into consideration. I wanted to have the chance to articulate what I believe is the power of theatre to bring people together around telling stories and sharing our humanity.” 

Could you present the Centaur Theatre? What led you to work there? 

“This season at Centaur is inspired by the city of Montreal. It includes the language and cultural diversity of the city. The four plays all look at a different aspect of life in our city and I hope that they open up new worlds and new perspectives. Please see the website for more information on the individual plays.”

What would incite young adults to visit the Centaur Theatre?

“I think that theatre is a great place for a young adult to discover things you can’t experience online or in an academic setting. It is live from beginning to end and full of surprises. The audience in the theatre is as much a part of the show as the actors on stage. 

Also, theatre in general can be a place to develop your own aesthetic and your own taste. Seeing different plays and different productions can open up your imagination in different ways. Film gives you everything all at once while theatre asks you participate with your own imagination. At Centaur I hope that you can see a variety of stories told in a variety of ways that start important conversations about our city, the people in it and our relationships to each other.” 

This season, the Centaur Theatre is inspired by Montreal and its beautiful bilingualism and presents 4 creative plays.

The first play is Cyclorama, presented from October 11th to November 5th at 38$ a ticket for students. Cyclorama starts at the Centaur theatre, continues on a bus tour and finishes in the Centre du Théatre d’Aujourd’hui. Written by the award-winning Laurence Dauphinais, the play has for goal to present Montreal and the historical riff formed between the French and the English community.

The second play is Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, presented from November 8th to the 27th at 30$ a ticket for students. Written by Hannah Moscovitch and directed by Eda Holmes, the play explores the topic of different narratives and sexual intimacy in academia: “Jon Macklem is a teacher in the middle of his third divorce. Lonely and full of self-loathing, he begins an illicit relationship with Annie—one of his nineteen-year-old students. The echoes of their relationship reverberate in the years that follow, growing from a rumble to a roar once #MeToo breaks.”

The third play is At the Beginning of Time, presented from February 21st to March 12th at 30$ a ticket for students. Written by Steve Galluccio and directed by Peter Hinton-Davis, this story is an autobiographical retelling of Galluccio’s life as a gay man in his 50’s. 

Last but not least: King Dave is offered from March 28th to April 16th at 30$ a ticket for students. written by Alexandre Goyette, adapted in collaboration with Anglesh Major, translated by Patrick Emmanuel Abellard and directed by Christian Fortin, this play was first presented at the Duccepe theatre in 2021 and is now presented in English at the Centaur Theatre. Played by Patrick Emmanuel Abellard, Dave is a young Haitian boy influenced by his peers, living in Montreal North.

The Centaur Theatre also presents Dark Divas –a musical show presenting notorious black female singers– in December and Little Willy –a funny retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet– in May.

The tickets are at the price of 38 or 30$ (depending on the play) for students, 25$ for groups of 10+ students and 20$ for Student Rush tickets. The theatre also offers a 102$ season subscription for people under 30. 

 For more information on the artistic vision of this season and the different representations, consult Eda Holmes’ Blogpost “Welcome to the Party!” and more on the  Centaur Theatre’s 54^th Season.

Thank you to the Centaur Theatre and Eda Holmes for taking the time to answer my questions. This season seems very promising, go check it out!

Mary Le Hir

I am the Editor of the Arts and Culture department, but also a second year student in the Honours Health science program. 🙂