It was mid-November 1999, in Terrebonne. Sarianne Cormier was 16 years old, like her friend Julie Surprenant who disappeared suddenly that evening. With the room Juliewhich evokes the impact of this drama in the circle of adolescents of which they were part, the author and director signs “a love letter” to her friends. “They are the ones who inspired me,” she says.
The text was born from his reunion with this group of friends, during a vigil held a few years ago to commemorate the disappearance of the young girl. “Everyone there told me their stories, what had happened from their point of view. » Cormier thus learned several details that she did not know. Stories like that of Marco, who, from his car, saw Julie passing on the viaduct, and became the initial suspect because he was the last person to see her. A heavy weight to carry. Or Julie’s lover, Daniel, who, when he heard the bad news, let off steam on his drums and “hit so hard that his hands bled.” It shook me.”
“Captured” by these stories, she wanted to highlight them by writing about them. “It is so important not to trivialize the feelings of adolescents. They are [souvent] put aside. And there, to see the adults crying over the tragedy of their 16th birthday: “no one believed me”, “I felt guilty all the time for not having stopped in the car”… It was so touching . »
The playwright did not want to enter into the detective dimension, true crimeof this enigma, which had a lot of impact in Quebec. The one who “adores” teenagers describes the daily life, the reactions of these young people who were then preparing to embrace the promises of CEGEP and the year 2000. “I wanted to talk about what it is, to be 16 years old, with the future, life ahead of you, and leaving a friend behind. It’s violent, a disappearance. At the time, and until recently, there was no possibility of resolution. A man said recently that it was him [le coupable]. » A confession on his deathbed which “was not a real testimony. But we know that it is surely true. The mystery remained in our hearts for almost 20 years.”
Julie highlights the friendship – obviously not always harmonious – between these teenagers who stick together to get through their common misfortune. The few adults featured in the show, like the social work intern, don’t seem to know how to talk to them. “It’s apart of the play, but another friend died some time after Julie disappeared. And I sensed a difficulty in the adults around us understanding what we were going through together, remembers Sarianne Cormier. When there is a tragedy — I am thinking of Polytechnique — there are groups of young people who hug each other. This is a very important core for grieving. The understanding that exists there, these teenagers who need each other, that touches me. »
Sarianne Cormier also noted that over time, with the tragic accumulation of other missing people and feminicides, the memory of the disappeared itself risked disappearing. “The young actors who play the play didn’t know who Julie was. So, there is also a desire to rescue my friend from oblivion. Even visually, throughout, I said to myself: it’s like putting a crack of light on Julie, so that maybe one day we can try to find her. And also shed light on the hearts of my friends. »
After Mythologyher solo inspired by the voluntary departure of her mother, the author in residence at La Licorne therefore continues in the autobiographical vein. This other piece about a disappearance seemed to him the logical continuation of the work created in 2021. “But we are much more in fiction. » Most of the characters are composites of several real people — including herself. Except Andrée, inspired by Andrée-Anne, Julie Surprenant’s real sister.
It was from her that Cormier first asked permission to write the piece, “because she was the one who touched me the most in this situation. It’s hard being the sister of the missing girl. It defines you. You become the sister of this person affected by a tragedy, so you have this big baggage to carry all the time. »
Humor
In Juliewe see the group of teenagers trying to continue living despite the loss, from the interrogations following the disappearance to a liberating prom. And their reactions are not free from awkwardness. “These teenagers are experiencing an extraordinary and dramatic situation with sometimes inappropriate behavior: crying too much, being in denial… They are not equipped to deal with this — but who is? Teenager, we don’t have [entièrement le contrôle] of our emotions, so we sometimes react in really strange ways. It touches me, and at the same time, sometimes their reactions make me die of laughter, while also making me cry. »
Cormier, who has just spent a month and a half with performers aged 12 to 17 for the creation of his first feature film Goodbye Plutoreminds us of the difficulty of this age. “You’re miserable when you’re a teenager and you’re going through a tragedy. You’re going to say the wrong thing. And drama and comedy are so close that if you turn just a little, it becomes funny. »
Hence the humor which occasionally illuminates his play. “I leave room for humor because Julie was really funny,” explains the author. She was very sunny. She did improvisation and had a completely funky-funny freedom. It was part of his personality and we must not forget it. It really was a girl fun. »
It was precisely during an improv session that his last memory of the missing girl dates back. “That’s why I wrote the play too: it’s a guilt that I’ve carried all my life. I, very psychorigid, told Julie: “Stop being stupid, you still have to concentrate when you do improvisation.” And in the evening, I thought: “Perhaps I was a little too roughshe’s still very funny.” And I was never able to tell her: the next day, she didn’t come back. From that moment on, I started telling people the truth quickly. I always settle matters as quickly as possible. »
All of his friends he met during the vigil experienced a similar feeling: “’I could have stopped my car, I should have told him that…’ Because it’s so weird, like a separation. It’s not like someone died and we see a body. »
How do we live with such a shocking event? “I think everyone is still thinking about it. This is what I found beautiful, too, in my friends. When you think about it again, it’s like the 16 year old child who is stuck with his emotions all mixed up. We are [pris] with that feeling. »
And perhaps that, she thinks, was the main impetus for writing this piece: an opportunity to tell those affected that they don’t have to feel guilty. “Maybe it’s a way of taking care of people. And possibly do it for me too. »
Julie herself crosses the room, played by a ghost in certain scenes. The concept of a “wandering soul that has not yet been found.” This way of showing one’s presence in absence was inspired in particular by the captivating film A Ghost Story. “In everything I do, there is a part that is a little more fanciful. I really like it when the magical comes into mundane life. »
A week before the premiere, Sarianne Cormier will invite Julie Surprenant’s sister to sit next to her to discover the play. A survivor towards whom the designer professes her admiration. “For me, Andrée-Anne is a heroine. The piece is titled Juliebut it bears on her. And the moments that I find the most touching are when the sisters are together. When I saw the scene where the ghost is on the bed with his character performed for the first time, I cried: that’s the meaning of the play. It was to allow Andrée-Anne to see her sister one last time. »