“How does it feel to see the dead?” »
Throughout the piece 5 bullets in the head, the character of the novelist and CEGEP professor asks this question to Canadian soldiers. However, all the soldiers, tested since their return from mission in Afghanistan, skillfully deflect the question. And respond with figures or anecdotes about their tough experience in the field.
Acting performance
Describing herself as antimilitarist, the alter ego of the author Roxanne Bouchard nevertheless decided to write a book with their war stories in the early 2000s. She noted that they all returned to the country with painful memories and trauma. And they have another question: has this war to fight against the Taliban regime served any purpose?
The play opens with the author, wonderfully played by Sylvie De Morais, lecturing the audience on bias and stereotypes in literature.
The first thing you need to clarify when building a character, she says, is their motivations.
PHOTO DAVID OSPINA, PROVIDED BY THE UNICORN
Maxim Gaudette as well as Sylvie De Morais, in the role of the novelist and CEGEP professor, the alter ego of the author Roxanne Bouchard
A preamble to better dive into the heart of the piece, when the woman goes to have a beer with three ex-infantry soldiers to collect their testimonies (Frédéric Millaire Zouvi, Éric Robidoux, Joakim Robillard, excited!). The contrast between the intellectual with the notebook, dressed in red and mauve, and these three alpha males is convincing. There is a huge gap between his two worlds. The rest of the room will fill it.
The war of others
As the author learns more about the reality of these engineers, armored soldiers, infantrymen, pilots and medical assistants, the audience at the same time reflects on their opinions on these issues. We understand better why these young people choose to join the armed forces. Besides, is it really a choice? It is rare that we see sons and daughters of rich families from Outremont or Westmount go to the front at the age of 20. We more often see young people lost, without money or a future; like this young woman from the North Shore (Lou Vincent-Desrosiers, very moving) who checked a box and found herself in the tanks… a few months later.
PHOTO DAVID OSPINA, PROVIDED BY THE UNICORN
Éric Robidoux and Frédéric Millaire Zouvi in the excellent production of 5 bullets in the head
Theater is sometimes used for that, to explore the flaws, the injustices of human nature, to make us more open to the realities of others. And 5 bullets in the head does it admirably well, thanks to the acting and the sensitive direction of François Bernier.
Roxanne Bouchard’s text asks essential questions about the exchange of opposing opinions.
On these encounters that must be provoked in life in order to evolve and not stay put. And about the empathy necessary to live together on our furious planet.
“From being an antimilitarist, I became deeply pacifist,” writes Roxanne Bouchard in her remarks to the program. And his play transforms us too. Because it brilliantly breaks the (fourth) wall of silence.
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5 bullets in the head: war stories
By Roxanne Bouchard
Director: François Bernier. With Philippe Cousineau, Sylvie De Morais, Maxim Gaudette, Frédéric Millaire Zouvi, Éric Robidoux, Joakim Robillard, Lou Vincent-Desrosiers, Éric Vega.
The UnicornUntil April 6