A strange thing, laughter. What makes some people laugh can bore or frankly put off others. It is around this concept that Daniel Brière and Alexis Martin decided to base their most recent show, simply titled Laughs, and to integrate graduates from theater and humor schools. Intergenerational views on what is “funny”… or not.
For the occasion, the two heads of the Nouveau Théâtre Expérimental (NTE) decided to dig into the comic repertoire from here and elsewhere to extract the most brilliant nuggets. The tandem then imagined a collage of sketches which made them (and still makes them) laugh.
However, what amuses these two children of the 1960s is often imbued with absurdity: Monthy Python, Neighbors by Meunier, Ionesco. They also fell for the more social humor of the Cynics or Clémence. The poetic aesthetic of Ground and Cup also had a lasting impact on their imagination.
The exercise could have stopped there and the two experienced actors could have decided to bring this humorous anthology to the stage themselves. However, they chose to offer this opportunity to seven graduates from theater and humor schools. For what ? “The pandemic has deprived these young people of the pleasure of finishing their studies with performances in front of an audience,” explains Daniel Brière. Result: they found themselves parachuted into the profession without having been able to demonstrate to the theatrical community and those close to them the extent of their know-how.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Daniel Brière gives his instructions to the group of performers.
In our DNA
And what better antidote than stomach-churning laughter to counterbalance the (post)pandemic grayness? “There are not that many comedies currently being produced in the theater,” believes Daniel Brière. Now, it pays for an actor to be funny. Not everyone has the talent to make people laugh. We wanted to bring young people of this generation into our world to see what they found funny or, on the contrary, shocked them. »
“We were both marked by Jean-Pierre Ronfard and Robert Gravel,” adds Alexis Martin. Humor and social analysis were at the heart of their approach. It’s in our DNA. »
To perpetuate the tradition of the NTE and pass on to the next generation what they have received, Alexis Martin and Daniel Brière have chosen to work in plenary, like their illustrious predecessors. Each member of the troupe of seven can express themselves on the text, the scenography, the staging.
-
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Directors Daniel Brière (left) and Alexis Martin
-
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
From left to right: Simon Duchesne, Anne-Sarah Charbonneau and Laurence Laprise
-
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Collective work on Laughter began with each performer making a mask.
1/3
The two playwrights and directors thus submitted their collage to the keen gaze of theater graduates Laurence Laprise, Fabrice Girard, Caroline Somers and Zoé Boudou. Graduates of the National School of Humor Anne-Sarah Charbonneau and Simon Duchesne also had their say, as did self-taught comedian Mehdi Agnaou.
What did the latter think of the extracts from texts not always politically correct chosen by the Martin-Brière pair? “I am a son of the absurd; I grew up with this repertoire,” says Simon Duchesne, an emerging comedian who regularly collaborates with The day (is still young), in addition to being part of the music group Marie Céleste.
Some things are dated in the show, and it’s up to us to step back and play it all with respect to each genre.
Simon Duchesne, comedian
Anne-Sarah Charbonneau is a comedian from the LGBTQ+ community who wants to give a voice to “those we hear less often”. She admits not having laughed during the first reading of the Oratory sketch, written by Les Cyniques (and containing words that are socially unacceptable today).
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Anne-Sarah Charbonneau is a graduate of the 2021 cohort of the National School of Humor.
It’s very polarizing. I thought it would be a challenge to make it funny! Fortunately, in the show, each text is put into context by the character of Vernis. It helps to better understand…
Anne-Sarah Charbonneau
Varnish? This is the character imagined by the team to serve as a link between the numbers. He is the alter ego of Henri Bergeron, who formerly hosted Beautiful Sundays. Vernis Bergeron has become the host of the Big Sundays. “He brings the almost anthropological side of laughter to the show,” says Alexis Martin.
A nice present
Laurence Laprise, for her part, is delighted to see texts like Neighbors find a place in this collage. “I don’t like things that are prescriptive. The void makes me laugh. Ionesco is part of my DNA! » Not for nothing does she host a podcast show called Risk of drowsiness where the banality of the subjects discussed is supposed to help you fall asleep…
“I would not have liked to have to endorse a text that would have made me uncomfortable,” adds the actress. But it is clear to us that it is not our word that is being carried… In Laughter, I am very moved to interpret a text by Clémence. To bring the words of this icon to the stage. It’s a great gift for an actress to be able to play this entire repertoire and to completely transform myself from one sketch to another. »
The words of the seven interpreters will be heard, but in a second time. Because in addition to the pleasure of (re)discovering great classics of Quebec, French, American or British humor, the great interest of this project lies in the fact that there will be a sequel. Next year, the group of actors and comedians will present a collective creation on what makes their generation laugh. Already, they see what separates them from each other. “We have already realized that our references are multiple and that our repertoire comes a lot from the internet,” says Laurence Laprise. The sources of inspiration are very vast…”
Laughter is presented at Espace Libre until May 4.
Visit the show page