Cultural summer | The revenge of the Quebec repertoire

From the movie Our sisters-in-law to the stage adaptations of Me…and the other and Cat Passing by The Giantess (on La Poune), Belmont (on Diane Dufresne) And The shop (on Yvon Deschamps), the Quebec of yesterday is popular among today’s creators. Deciphering a craze for our stories and our myths, revisited in shows which will soon be on display.

In general, the arrival of the cultural summer rhymes with the return of wholesale adaptations musical Americans, such asAnnie, Mamma Mia!, Grease And Footloose. Not this year. Next season will display Quebec colors, with new titles like The Tomcat, The Giantess or the resumption of Lili St-Cyr…

All these shows have one thing in common: they revisit the myths, stories and legends of Quebec. Like so many national treasures.

While the Quebec government launches an action plan to protect the French language and ensure “the accessibility and discoverability of French-speaking cultural content”, more and more new theatrical productions (and films) display an assumed Quebecness. And without any nostalgia.

“We are revisiting our repertoire, but with modern eyes and a contemporary outlook. By showing what still resonates today,” explains René Richard Cyr, who will launch his highly anticipated (first) feature film on July 11, Our sisters-in-law, based on the flagship work of Michel Tremblay. As director Chloé Robichaud will do in the summer of 2025 with Two women in gold, written by Catherine Léger based on her play created at La Licorne and freely adapted from the film of the same name.

“So much the better if our creators look back and don’t just keep their eyes fixed on current events,” continues Cyr. If France offered us 16 versions of Three MusketeersQuebec can revisit once again Sisters-in-law. This story is not current: it is eternal! After a performance of the musical, a teenage girl already said to me: “We don’t know these characters, but we recognize them!” »

Dodo and Denise

After Symphorian last year, ComediHa! and Productions Martin Leclerc offer in June the theatrical adaptation of the television comedy Me… and the other, with Alexa-Jeanne Dubé and Juliette Gosselin. Kim Lévesque-Lizotte, who is writing her first play here, claims to have “put today’s words into the mouths of the past”, by writing new intrigues for the legendary characters of Dodo and Denise.

In the eyes of the author of the series The Simones, the current popularity of the Quebec repertoire does not represent a nostalgic enterprise: “Beyond nostalgia, I think we need to remember where we come from, what happened before us, because nothing is ever acquired. We are living in a time marked by a return of conservatism, a decline in our rights. These works make us realize how far we have come. »

Having always admired the comic tandem formed by Denise Filiatrault and Dominique Michel, Kim Lévesque-Lizotte also wants to pay tribute to the pioneering, “avant la lettre” character, and the “subversive” side of the two popular actresses. “They are great ladies and comic artists who have left such a mark on Quebec and this era. I don’t want us to forget everything they accomplished for Quebec and the women of my generation,” she says.

The power of imagination

“People crave local culture more than we think. We are not ordinary in Quebec. We have a momentum, a strength, a sacred fire within us. We must revalorize our pride,” believes Jade Bruneau. The actress and director has created half a dozen shows on “cultural treasures in Quebec”, including Clémence DesRochers, Rose Ouellette and Diane Dufresne (Belmont).

With her company, the Théâtre de l’Œil Ouvert, Jade Bruneau wishes to bring our poetry to life that is “meaningful and accessible to all”. “Quebec culture has a way of creating magic, grandeur with simple, artisanal means. For me, Clémence’s words, for example, are stronger than major technical means in a show. Nothing is more powerful than our imagination. »

After NeighborsAndré Robitaille produces and directs the play this summer Call me Stéphane. “Since I have been doing theater, the plays of Claude Meunier and Louis Saia have always attracted me,” he says. Their texts have comic power and effectiveness. It’s a happy marriage of comedy and tragedy. The greatest quality of these texts is that the spectators recognize themselves in these pieces. They have references to people and things that happen in their home. It is the mirror effect that provokes pure and frank laughter from the Quebec public. »

“Quebec works also sell tickets. And as I do private theater, without subsidies, the pre-sale of a show is very important,” adds the producer.

Broadway in Quebec

After the success of Broadway classics like Mary Poppins, Mamma Mia! And Annie, Joël Legendre is delighted to see a producer (Entourage) give his approval to the musical this summer The Tomcat. “It has not happened often, in recent history, to see a large-scale musical comedy that is 100% Quebecois. With 13 performers, a large set and a rich musical score orchestrated by Antoine Gratton. »

” Write a musical, it’s a question of structure,” says Jessy Brouillard, who wrote the music, lyrics and libretto for the adaptation of Yves Beauchemin’s novel (which was made into a film in 1985). According to him, Beauchemin’s book has a perfect structure for making a musical.

According to the songwriter, The Tomcat also offers twists and turns and endearing characters. “If the novel had been a success in the United States, I believe that a producer would have already produced it on Broadway! »

What pushes young Quebec artists to draw on the past is also due to the fact that the present is not very reassuring… “With Me…and the other, I noticed how much Denise and Dominique were ahead of their time, says Kim Lévesque-Lizotte. Two women in their thirties who live together, very independent and ambitious, who flirt openly and who have crushes on the same guys, without thinking about marriage and children. Even today, it remains avant-garde! »