Lamarche, Gustave, 1895-1987

Gustave Lamarche, a Montreal-born Roman Catholic priest, is best known for the huge theatrical pieces he composed and directed, and which have been compared to medieval passion plays. He was educated by the Clerics de St. Viateur in Montreal, beginning in 1913, and later at the Université de Paris and the École des sciences politiques de Louvain. On his return, while teaching at Collège Bourget in Rigaud just outside Montreal, he soon became a prolific writer of essays, poetry, and above all drama; his six-volume Oeuvre théâtrale (1971-1975) contained 34 works, sone of which were performed outdoors and attended by thousands. He created the Ligue de théâtre québécoise and the Corporation d'art dramatique, and founded and directed several periodicals including Carnets viatoriens, Les Cahiers de Nouvelle-France and Nation nouvelle; he also contributed essays to Le Devoir, L’Action nationale, L’Ordre and Notre temps. He is widely regarded as one of the early promoters of the idea of Quebec independence.