The Impossible Light

Presented as part of the 21st Festival international de Casteliers

A Play by Jon Lachlan Stewart
Starring Jon Lachlan Stewart (performer) and Lori Pifko (puppeteer)
Directed by Jon Lachlan Stewart
With Outside Eyes Shoshanna Bass, Eric Rose

Callen’s lifeblood is the glow of computer screens, but when his computer programmer rockstar-influencer lifestyle is shattered by his partner announcing she’s pregnant, he’s thrown into a pool of doubt, staring into a selfish mirror of himself. Terrified, Callen escapes into a cave to spend some time away, but when he falls and is trapped inside, a living, sentient light will meet Callen, will lead Callen, and will show him the darkest parts of himself he’s too afraid to see.

About Casteliers

Firmly rooted in the Greater Montréal area, Casteliers is a specialized theatre presenter dedicated to puppetry arts, always in search of the most outstanding creations from here and from around the world, to the great fascination of adults and children alike. A trailblazer, Casteliers is co-founder of the Maison internationale des arts de la marionnette (MIAM), a unique cultural centre that welcomes artists and forges extraordinary international collaborations.

With its regular season, annual international festival, creative residencies, and school and specialized workshops, Casteliers weaves productive and meaningful links with artistic communities in Québec, Canada, and around the world. Casteliers strives to ensure that puppetry is given full recognition as an exceptional, age-old, and thoroughly contemporary artistic form: the 11^th art.

About Jon Lachlan Stewart and The Impossible Light

Creator Jon Lachlan Stewart has worked with puppeteers, movers and dancers since 2006, and physical theatre has been strongly tied to his work, and to the work of Surreal SoReal.

Jon Lachlan Stewart’s first work with the Casteliers festival was Macbeth Muet, co-created with Marie Hélène Bélanger, and next was The King Stinks, directed by Olivier Morin and co-presented with Infinithéâtre.

We are extremely grateful for the ongoing support of Casteliers and the Maison International des Arts de la Marionnette, who support local works that foster puppetry-driven and puppetry-adjacent work like this one.

The Impossible Light began in a residency supported by the Casteliers.

About Surreal Soreal Theatre

Surreal Soreal is a multidisciplinary company, often working with a mix of dance, theatre and puppetry to produce works that use movement, bold imagery and forms of expression that go beyond words.

Social satire is at the heart of much of Surreal SoReal’s work, and we are interested in creating contexts in which French and English artists can exchange their perspectives on the world and its issues. By bridging the two solitudes of Montréal together, Surreal SoReal creates a collaborative context and aesthetic unique to the bilingual community of Montréal.

Past works include Big Shot (Centaur Wildside, Prospero, Canadian tour), Madame Catherine prépare sa classe de troisième pour l’irrémédiable (Prospero, Carrefour, Canadian tour), The King Stinks (Phenomena, Infinithéâtre, Casteliers), Jonathan: la figure du goéland (Denise Pelletier / Geordie), Beau Gars (after Erin Shields’ Beautiful Man, Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui), Cycle (Espace Libre), and Roi Lear (Denise Pelletier). Upcoming is Le Testament des Célébrités at the CTd’A in April 2026, and Welcome to the digital desert, a piece mixing dance and theatre by local breaker Charles Gao, at La Chapelle in 2027.

Partners / Developmental Support from:
Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal and Sarah Elkashef, Le Cube, Maison de la culture NDG, Aux Écuries, Marilyn Perreault, Olivier Ducas, Maison de la culture maisonneuve.

Thank you’s:
Iris Richert, Rebecca Vachon, Gabriel Lemire, Ryan Bommarito, Aurelia Badulescu.