Review by Yvon Deschamps tells the shop | The lucidity of Yvon Deschamps

There can never be too many tributes to Yvon Deschamps, who deserves every one of them. The new show Yvon Deschamps tells the shopwhich literally brings to life the universe created by the father of Quebec humor, is a salute full of respect and good ideas, well done despite some excesses of enthusiasm and breaks in rhythm.

Premiered at the Maisonneuve Hall at Place des Arts on Tuesday, Yvon Deschamps tells the shopwhich will then go on tour in Quebec, is a kind of hybrid that combines humor, song, music, dance and circus. It is not a theatrical object, but rather a variety show made up of eight thematic tableaux, with songs taken from the classical Quebec repertoire that fit each theme, from My country from Robert Charlebois to The damned machine from October, passing through Factory life by Clémence DesRochers.

This gives numbers, like the one on love, where we can see a circus duo while we hear Under the chimneys by Richard Séguin and At human height by Vincent Vallières, the two songs nested one inside the other. Three musicians are also present on stage, an undeniable asset for this kind of production.

The monologues created by Yvon Deschamps between 1969 and 1973 already have a very strong common thread through the “guy from the shop”, this naive man who wonders “unions, what’s the deal?” » and for whom happiness looks like « a steady job and a good boss ». The designer and director Jean-François Blais chose to divide him into four characters, each with their own identity. Embodied in this way by four people, his story becomes even more universal.

In a setting reminiscent of Modern times by Chaplin – the show opens with the tune of Smile –, the monologues are sometimes transformed into dialogues, sometimes punctuated by the interventions of others, or even narrated in relays by the four frankly good singer-performers despite some hesitations on the opening night.

Invested, Sylvain Marcel, David Savard, Elizabeth Duperré and Stéphane Archambault play on the fine line between interpretation and comedy show, and sometimes go from one side to the other. But if, like them, we sometimes don’t know which foot to dance on, seeing this universe that has always been told to us come to life remains surprising and keeps us on our toes.

Above the stage, in a sort of porthole, sits the narrator-creator of this world, Yvon Deschamps himself, thanks to recently pre-recorded videos. Throughout the evening, he comes back punctually to take a look at what is happening, observes this life that was born in his head and that is now teeming before him, comments on it and analyzes it, announces what is coming.

This benevolent and amused presence – Yvon Deschamps, in other words! – reminds us that even if the world has changed, work, love, death, parenthood or money are timeless themes, and gives the show an instant depth.

These winks from the master are a large part of the charm of this show, whose texts written more than 50 years ago are the backbone, and make you laugh as much as they make you think.

We also guarantee that the tongue-in-cheek passages about women will make you react like they did back then, and that the moving moments about fatherhood will bring a tear to your eye, even today.

Like in the musical show Royal Pubcreated from the repertoire of the Cowboys Fringants, the show includes circus and dance numbers, choreographed by DM Nation. One could fear the overbidding, but the presence of the eight dancers, even with their very modern energy, fits in quite well with the subject. As for the circus, if it is not overused, it is still a little superfluous.

The connection between the songs and the lyrics is, of course, more obvious. The choice not to perform them in full, while sometimes rearranging them a lot, is however a shame. It is a more televisual approach, and choosing fewer pieces would have allowed us to enter more into each one.

We did the same thing for the texts, since these are extracts that were chosen and in a certain way “re-edited”, but the effect is less disturbing and allows us to go around Deschamps in a little less than two hours.

With such solid source material, it would have been hard to miss. Did the comedian’s words need so much hyperactivity to support them? Not necessarily.

But the artistic choices that were made are defensible and coherent – ​​except perhaps for the presence of the foreman, played by David-Alexandre Després in a mute clownish role, who comes and goes and ends up disappearing in the second part.

The other big problem is precisely the decision to place an intermission after the fifth of the eight scenes. This break completely interrupts the rhythm of the performance and unnecessarily lengthens the evening, since there is no change of scenery or costume.

It’s hard to get back into the mood afterwards, as we come back with the sixth scene and the death of the “boss”. The tone is more tragic, the “shop” is locked out, and the story, which swings into the future, is less clear.

This is the song Do we love each other? by Deschamps, one of the most beautiful to have been written in Quebec, which obviously concludes the evening. But it is Yvon himself who has the last word, when he talks about the challenges of the century and the threat of artificial intelligence. “We must be positive, confident and above all… vigilant!” The best advice, from the most lucid of men.

Visit the show website

Yvon Deschamps tells the shop

Directed by Jean-François Blais

Musical arrangements by Antoine Gratton

With David Savard, Elizabeth Duperré, Sylvain Marcel, Stéphane Archambault and David-Alexandre Després

At the Maisonneuve Theater this Thursday, September 26,
at the Grand Théâtre de Québec on October 11 and 12,
then on tour throughout Quebec

6.5/10