L'habitude des ruines is a stage adaptation of Marie-Hélène Voyer's celebrated essay on the systematic erasure of Quebec's built heritage — historic sites abandoned, modest architectures left to decay, and the culture of demolition in favor of the new. The production blends documentary theater, literary text, and poetry to give voice to the places and memories left behind.
Four performers from different generations, including a child, bring the words, characters, and memories of Voyer's text to life through body, voice, and music. The stage becomes a space of remembrance, calling audiences to reconnect with a shared cultural legacy and to find beauty in neglected, everyday spaces.
The adaptation is directed by Jérémie Niel, who leads the company Pétrus, known since 2005 for formally rigorous and immersive work that blurs genre boundaries. His previous productions include adaptations of works by Atiq Rahimi, Martin Crimp, Édouard Louis, László Krasznahorkai, and Pierre Perrault.
Voyer's original essay earned the Prix des libraires in 2023. Niel's stage version weaves her poetry into a documentary framework, creating immersive landscapes that evoke the ruins of a civilization in flux — reviving 'haunted houses' and reclaiming interior memory.
Performances take place at À la Cité-des-Hospitalières in Montreal, Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 19:30, from February 23 to March 13, 2027. Tickets are available via the Théâtre Prospero website.