Actress and theatre teacher Denise Gagnon, well known in the cultural community, died Wednesday in Quebec at the age of 87.
In her 60-year career, she has left her mark on the history of theatre, mainly in Quebec, but also throughout the province, in addition to her numerous roles on television and in cinema, equally at ease in the classics as in avant-garde works.
On television, she has appeared in several soap operas and series, such as The Braves Park, Cormorant, The Black Dog Inn, With a capital A, Scoop… In the cinema, she worked with Yves Simoneau (Red eyes), Pierre Falardeau (October) and Bernard Émond (The Novena).
A rich legacy
Trained in acting, she was in the first cohort of the Conservatoire de Québec in 1961. Subsequently, Denise Gagnon taught several generations of performers at the same place for around twenty years.
The actress was a regular at the Trident at the Grand Théâtre de Québec; she was part of the company’s beginnings in 1971 with Paul Hébert, with whom she played in Pygmalion. She loved exploring the repertoire, from Lorca to Chekhov, via Racine and the Greeks. But she also adored creations, with texts by Michel Marc Bouchard, Marie Laberge (The Night Cap Barat the Periscope) or Michel Tremblay (Solemn Mass for a Summer Full Moonat Duceppe).
Playwright Michel Tremblay also reacted to the actress’ departure on Wednesday evening: “Theatre in Quebec is losing one of its finest jewels. As the great enthusiast that she was, Denise made the trip from Quebec to Montreal every day to come and play The Hanging House at Duceppe in 1990, while continuing to give his courses at the Conservatory.
PHOTO FRANCOIS BRUNELLE, PROVIDED BY DUCEPPE
Denise Gagnon in Charlotte my sister with Micheline Bernard, in 2005
She also shone in several productions by the author of rue Fabre: Marcel chased by dogs, Albertine in five times, Hello, there, hello, swithout forgetting a memorable Germaine Lauzon in The sisters-in-lawunder the direction of Serge Denoncourt at the Théâtre du Trident.
But Denise Gagnon could also take risks, like when she played Pozzo in the Godot from Beckett to La Bordée, or revisited The Trojan Women with Wajdi Mouawad in the early 2000s. Her iconic role remains that of Aurélie, in Aurélie, my sistera play written and directed by Marie Laberge, alongside a very young Guylaine Tremblay, in 1988. Huge success! The play was revived the following year at the Café de la Place in Montreal and at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.
Reactions
His friend Denis Bernard paid tribute to him on Facebook on Wednesday evening: “Rest in peace… And wherever you are, may the echo of your great bursts of laughter accompany us forever.”
“Denise Gagnon, a great actress and talented teacher, has passed away. Thank you for giving me a taste for language, its richness and its beauty,” wrote actor Thierry Dubé on Facebook. François L’Écuyer emphasized that she had been “a remarkable partner and accomplice, in addition to being an exceptional woman.”
Quebec actor Jonathan Gagnon was one of her former students at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique. “I graduated in 2003 and we were the first cohort to have the name of a former graduate of the Conservatoire. We are the DENISE GAGNON cohort. Today, I learned of her death. This larger-than-life actress was a defining moment in my journey,” he wrote.
All these roles that Denise Gagnon defended, in a masterful way, will remain engraved in the memory of the public as well as of her acting partners.