“I am not serious and I am not taken seriously, ”says Guy Nantel to evoke both his posture as a humorist and his painful defeat in the second round of the race for the leadership of the Parti québécois in 2020.
He explains: “I dreamed all my life of being labeled a comedian, so I live with the positive and negative consequences of that. In politics, obviously, it didn’t help me. While I offered a sensible platform, while I had my relevance as a party leader, I was brought back to my profession as a comedian, I was often denigrated because of it, going so far as to call me a clown. That said, it hasn’t changed the fact that the stage is my real passion and that it comes way before everything else. »
Traveling across Quebec since the spring with his sixth solo show in 27 years, If I understand you correctly, you are saying…, Guy Nantel fully savors the opportunity he has. “I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do,” he explains. I have both feet on a stage in front of 1000 people and I have to be funny from the first line. Truth be told, nothing makes me happier than touring: going to the regions, to people’s homes, immersing myself in their world, meeting them, talking to them, having my photograph taken with them. Believe me, I know my Quebec! Whether in Abitibi, Gaspésie or Chibougamau, it’s always an enriching experience. Imagine that I go to the Raglan mine, in Nunavik! Few people have the chance to see this region, to meet the Inuit and the miners who live there. »
Against a current
Graduated from the National School of Humor in 1989, winner of The world destination race in 1993, essayist, columnist on radio and television, director of documentaries, but also of vox-pop that ignite the Web, Guy Nantel is a socially and politically engaged comedian. “Very early on,” he explains, “I felt that my humor would run counter to that of the character impersonators and creators who were so common when I started in the 1990s. society was stronger than me, it was in my DNA; it was ingrained enough for me to insist on offering something other than what was fashionable. »
I try to be a modern-day philosopher, in other words to hold up a mirror to my contemporaries to send back to them a reflection of what they live, of what they are. The image is not always brilliant, but the mirror does not cheat, it gives the right time, even if it means using distortion or magnification to make its point.
After nearly 35 years of career, the comedian still believes that his role is to take a look at his society. “I try to be a modern-day philosopher, in other words to hold up a mirror to my contemporaries to send back to them a reflection of what they live, of what they are. The image is not always brilliant, but the mirror does not cheat, it gives the right time, even if it means using distortion or magnification to make its point. »
In his new solo, Guy Nantel intends to show Quebecers what a victory at the head of the PQ in 2020 would have allowed him to bring to provincial politics. “The show is neither more nor less than the balance sheet of a guy who lost his race for the leadership, recognizes the comedian. It is of course caricatured, but it is strongly inspired by what I saw, heard and experienced behind the scenes of the PQ. »
stage character
Fans of Guy Nantel will have the chance to reconnect with the character they know well, a man who does not lack self-confidence. “As usual, explains the comedian, my stage character is full of himself. This time, he has contempt for all the leaders who came before him and he is convinced that he would have managed to make the job that no one has managed to do before him. Of course, he would have solved the COVID crisis by snapping his fingers. It would effortlessly restore the economy, it would be able to cope without difficulty with the aging of the population, the flaws in the health care system, the rise of conspiracy theories and the degradation of the environment. »
Nantel admits that he takes great pleasure in embodying an ignoble character on stage. “The challenge of a comedian, in my opinion, is to be endearing while having tons of faults. The goal is for people to spend the evening finding you obnoxious, but still want to have a beer with you at the end. »
A nationalist, sovereignist and centrist, Nantel says many people leave his shows feeling like they’ve finally had access to something different. “Many of them come to see me to tell me how much they consider what I say to be true. They are not of the opinion that every sentence spoken is a truth, but they are reassured to know that this freedom of thought still exists, that it is always possible to launch nonsense. I think the distinction between my opinions and those of the character I play on stage is very clear. I think this is the case for all comedians elsewhere: no one takes their shows for conferences. »
We can hardly end our interview without addressing the title of the show. Why this almost literal repetition of the mythical formula used by René Lévesque during the defeat of the 1980 referendum?
“I must admit that it’s not my idea,” says Nantel. It was suggested to me by a member of my team and I immediately found that it fit perfectly with the adventure I experienced within the PQ. In the show, I ask the audience this question: what did you want to tell me? Whether you want to see me performing again or whether you really don’t want to see me govern? Then he adds, laughing: “I’m still waiting for the answer. »