Françoise Faucher

Faucher, Françoise

Françoise Faucher, actor, director, and moderator (b at Montmorency, France, 1929). Trained in drama in France under René Simon and Bernard Bimont, Faucher immigrated to Canada in the early 1950s with her husband Jean Faucher, also involved in theatre. Soon after her arrival she performed in Lorca's Noces de sang with Les Compagnons de Saint-Laurent several months before the dissolution of this semi-professional company in June 1952. The actress then participated in THÉÂTRE DU NOUVEAU MONDE's first major successes: Montherland's Le Maître de Santiago (1955), and particularly Claudel's L'Échange (1956), playing opposite co-founders Jean Gascon and Jean-Louis Roux. She championed several roles in plays on the burgeoning national television. She wrote scripts for radio and TV programs, sparking off a productive career as a moderator (Votre enfant Mesdames, Si santé m'était contée, Carrefour, Psychologie de la vie quotidienne...), which culminated in the public affaires show Femme d'aujourd'hui, where she stayed for fifteen years (1966-81).

At the same time, Françoise Faucher pursued her acting career on TV and on Montréal stages. She appeared in several well-known TV dramas in the 1970s (Les Mont-Joye, Les Bergers, La pension Velder, etc.) On stage, she handled all styles: light comedy, intimate theatre, classics, contemporary masters (including Beckett), and avant-garde productions. She even played Prospero in Shakespeare's The Tempest in the Théâtre Expérimental des Femmes, in 1988. We can thank her for directing several productions notably Elvire Jouvet.

In 1977, the French government awarded her the medal of the Chevalier de l'Ordre des arts et des lettres. In February 2010, Françoise Faucher won a GOVERNOR GENERAL'S PERFORMING ARTS AWARD.