All is not lost for those nostalgic for Urban Tales or their descendants, Montreal fairs — which could be seen at La Licorne until 2019. But they must now go to Boisbriand to receive their ration of tales and seasonal atmosphere, thanks to the second edition of the Festive vigils. A production of the dynamic Petit Théâtre du Nord, which is no longer content to create a new piece every summer. Has a new tradition been born?
The friendly company has concocted a show that is just as much. The convivial evening is presented at the new Creation Center, in a layout of the stage space that promotes close proximity to the public. The formula combines unpublished tales, a few historical clips (supporting archive photos) and pleasant singing moments, accompanied on stage by musical director Benoît Archambault. But this show, very rooted in its corner of the country, the Laurentians, is rather coherent in the end. Indeed, in order to celebrate this region at the crossroads of different paved roads, the texts, songs included, are organized around a theme: “tracing your own route”.
Each of the three directors of the Laurentian theatre, who are performers there as well as authors, delivers a short monologue related to the road. Thus, the anthology of memories of family trips, swallowing up the miles, that Sébastien Gauthier lists exudes an endearing nostalgic scent. It is also generally a question of automotive journeys, which turn unexpectedly, in fictional tales, with a humorous flavor. Such Christmas on the 640, by Nico Gagnon, and Redemption Song, of Martin Bellemare, where Luc Bourgeois camped, very tasty, several guests of a party. Benefiting from a careful staging by Benoît Vermeulen, the show oscillates between narration and acting, the tales involving a theatricality. Some characters are thus heard in recorded voices.
Charting one’s course probably takes on a metaphorical meaning in the colorful and inclusive Marcel the flamboyant, by Marilou Leblanc, enthusiastically interpreted by Mélanie St-Laurent. The fourth performer, the young Marie Reid, fresh out of the Lionel-Groulx College Theater School, carries in particular with expressiveness — and a pretty singing voice — a text in which we recognize the feminist signature of Rébecca Déraspe. This tasty Merry Christmas, Fernando, which tells how a young girl from Hochelaga succeeds in rejoining her lover in the distance, all of a sudden urban tale, with his nod to The hunting gallery.
No need to resort to such an unusual mode of transport. But Festive evenings well worth the short trip to the Lower Laurentians.