Mononk Jules

Target audience: 14 years and over

Jules Sioui is one of the great Indigenous heroes of the twentieth century who has fallen down a huge memory hole. It all starts in 1940, when all healthy men are conscripted, even First Peoples. Except that Indians don't have the right to vote, they're not Canadian, and the Indian Act treats them as less than children. For Mononk Jules, conscription without the right to vote was the beginning of war. Between 1940 and 1950, he fought against the Canadian government. His goal: independence for the First Nations. In this documentary show, Wendat author, playwright and puppeteer Jocelyn Sioui tells the story of his great-uncle and the little-known facts of 20th-century Aboriginal history. Surrounded by screens and models that come to life with historical figures and images, Jocelyn Sioui takes us deep inside a box of archives from which we emerge a changed person. Funny, touching and energetic, Mononk Jules is a captivating story delivered with authenticity by a passionate performer who tries to understand how history is written or not written. A creator and unifier, Jocelyn is a founding member of Belzébrute, a theatre band, and of OUF! Festival Off Casteliers, a festival dedicated to emerging puppet artists. He is one of the very few Indigenous puppeteers in Quebec. As a writer-designer-performer, his work has been enjoyed across Canada and in France. The originality of his approach has won him numerous awards, including the Grand Jury Prize at the OFF/Festival Mondial des Théâtres de Marionnettes de Charleville-MÉzière for Shavirez in 2013. Mononk Jules, published by Éditions Hannenorak in 2020, marked Jocelyn's first steps into the world of literature. The documentary show of the same name won the Prix Accès Culture at the Bourse Rideau 2021. Since then, more than 60 shows have been presented across Quebec, and the work will travel to the four cardinal corners of Canada over the coming year.

The audience is invited to a 20-minute discussion with the artists after the show, hosted by Les Voyagements, a creative theatre on tour. This show is supported by Les Voyagements, théâtre de création en tournée and the Salon du livre de l'Outaouais. "The performance is made possible by the Quebec government's Plan de relance économique du milieu culturel.