[Reellife] Bonjour, ooh là là, Bonjour

[dave olsen]

Well, Théâtre la Siezième <http://seizieme.ca/> has done it again: they've 
brought to life another incredible script of Michel Tremblay, this time 
/Bonjour, là, bonjour/.

I read the English translation just before seeing the show and I was taken aback 
by the depth this company gave the words.  And as an anglophone, I know I missed 
much of the nuance of the Joual; many Quebecois in the audience were brought to 
tears.

The genius of M. Tremblay is not just the content, both linguistically and 
literally, and more than the dramaturgy.  He can find the beauty in the most 
disgusting, and show the power of love in so doing.

La Siezième boldly presents M. Tremblay on a stage that is simple in some 
respects but also, like the script, bold in others.

A giant cast for a theatre of this size, all 8 perform like the symphony they 
bring to life, hitting each note with precision and appropriate zest.

Joey Lesperance opens and closes the show, and aging 20 years without a drop of 
makeup, embodies a deaf, elderly father from the 70's in Quebec perfectly.  More 
subtly than in //À toi, pour toujours, ta Marie Lou/ 
<https://reellife.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/real-life-theatre-a-la-michel-tremblay/>/, 
he again steals the show.

Lyne Barnabé is spot on with Lucienne, the eldest daughter who, despite having 
it all financially, is desperately empty.  She, like two of her 3 sisters, 
endlessly seeks fulfillment to no avail. Émilie Leclerc and Annie Lefebvre play 
the pharmaceutical and food addicted sisters that don't hide their desires for 
the baby of the family, the recently returned 25 year old Serge.

Vincent Leblanc-Beaudoin plays Serge beautifully, showing his newfound maturity 
and self-knowledge from a 3 month European trip by resisting the incessant pulls 
of each family member save his father.  And he doesn't rely on his good looks to 
pull off this role, around which the play revolves.

His overbearing aunts, played by Leanna Brodie and Thérèse Champagne, provide 
much of the comedy with their unabating dysfunction.

Siona Gareau-Brennan admirably played the left-out sister, Nicole, who steals 
Serge's heart.  With Gilles Poulin-Denis's gutty direction, while the family 
eats sugar pie, Nicole and Serge feast on their own dessert, in front of the 
family with no one seeing.  A powerful metaphor that likely applied to many 
working class Catholic families of the 70s, both in Quebec and beyond.

The power of this piece lies in its ability to show love emanate despite how it 
manifests.  As with most civilized families, dysfunction often overwhelms the 
profound love that is all of us. To see it shine through on stage was a treat 
rarely beheld.

Despite its forbidden source, love is still love which has no end and which 
always attracts more of it.  M. Tremblay makes no secret of his preference for 
love over right or might.  And I couldn't agree more.

Tonight and Saturday night's performances, like all the previous performances, 
are sold-out.

Théâtre la Siezième <http://seizieme.ca/> has *added a Saturday Matinée (March 
11, 2017) at 4pm* <http://fr.brownpapertickets.com/event/2595249>, with English 
Surtitles...as of this writing, there were tickets still available.

Enjoy!

Warmly,
dave/
//
Parenting with an Open Heart: a seminar series for all Parents, Caregivers, and 
Parents-to-be: for info and session dates, please visit/ 
/http://humanpowered.wordpress.com <http://humanpowered.wordpress.com/>

Movie and Theatre lovers who know a saner world is possible may enjoying reading 
and sharing their thoughts on Reel Life, Real Ideas: Movies and more... 
<http://reellife.wordpress.com/>

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