Zamân or on a le même temps qu'on avait is a theatrical show created and performed by Mani Soleymanlou, centring on the moment his mother was diagnosed with brain tumours. The title draws on the word zamân (زمان), meaning 'time' in Farsi, Hebrew, Arabic, and other languages, and the show explores how time stretches, contracts, and escapes us — particularly in the face of illness and memory.
The performance is framed as an evening in a jazz club: an intimate, unhurried space where candid confessions are welcome and saxophone riffs or drum solos can stand in for words. Soleymanlou weaves together recollections of his own experience with cancer, reflections on family bonds, and observations about life in a world defined by constant acceleration.
Joining him on stage is the band Valaire, whose live presence helps recreate the loose, warm atmosphere of a late-night jazz session. Their music punctuates and amplifies the narrative, offering moments where sound says what language cannot.
The show runs at La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines in Montreal from Wednesday, November 18 to Saturday, November 21, 2026. Evening performances begin at 19:30; the Saturday matinée begins at 16:00. Tickets are available through Tuxedo Billet.