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Gustave Lamarche, priest, dramatist (b at Montréal 17 July 1895; d 27 Aug 1987).
Lamarche, Gustave
Gustave Lamarche, priest, dramatist (b at Montréal 17 July 1895; d 27 Aug 1987). He was best known for the vast dramatic frescoes on religious themes, often reminiscent of medieval passion plays, that he began to compose and direct in Québec in the 1930s, especially his Jonathas and Tobie (both 1935), La Défaite de l'enfer (1938), Notre-Dame-des-Neiges (1942) and Notre-Dame-de-la-Couronne (1947), the latter 2 performed outdoors before thousands of spectators.
Lamarche's collected 6-volume Oeuvres théâtrales (1971-75) include 34 plays. In restoring the respectability of stage arts, long considered suspect in French Canada, Lamarche made an important contribution to contemporary Québec culture.
