“Life is a perpetual loan”, exclaims Mercadet in the maker. This cunning but ruined speculator lives for one and only thing: to make money. Always more money! For this, the financier will drag his entourage into his endless delirium of wealth.
Like a cross between Elon Musk and Vincent Lacroix, with charisma as a bonus, Mr Mercadet is a born manipulator, with a narcissistic personality. A man who uses his fortune to hide his immense inner emptiness. Balzac wrote Mercadet or The maker in 1840. Nearly two centuries later, the piece remains terribly current. It is the subject of a contemporary adaptation by Gabrielle Chapdelaine, in a daring staging by Alice Ronfard, at the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier.
At the start of the performance, we are surprised when we discover this production. And it took us a few minutes to adapt to Ronfard’s proposal, to his vaudevillesque, even caricatural tone. The performers play in a clean and modern scenography, created by the talented designer Gabriel Tsampalieros. A very beautiful decor, but devoid of accessories. The actors say their lines by choreographing them, supporting their acting with comic gestures. A sound effect suggests the manipulation of objects. The staging constantly solicits the attention of the public.
PHOTO DAVIS OSPINA, PROVIDED BY THE DENISE-PELLETIER THEATER
The room the maker is backed by a strong cast. From left to right: Charlie Monty, Alexandra Gagné-Lavoie, Karine Gonthier-Hyndman, Christophe Payeur and Alex Bergeron.
A top-flight cast!
In the role of Mercadet, Alex Bergeron is brilliant! With his game that is both physical and full of finesse, the actor takes us into the psyche of this con man that his creditors can’t hate. Little by little, Bergeron transformed Mercadet’s moral levity. He exposes his flaws. His desperation. His fear of heights. His immense contempt for the poor fed by the vertigo of his greed.
The elegant Madame Mercadet is played by the irresistible Karine Gonthier-Hyndman. The actress grabs us as soon as she sets foot on stage. This fabulous actress would manage to captivate us by reading her grocery list… In the role of Julie, the Mercadet’s daughter, both immature and critical of her parents, Alexandra Gagné-Lavoie is a revelation. The young actress made the spectators react, a few times last Friday, by her sense of comedy. Special mentions to the “crypto-bro” of Christophe Payeur, as well as to the boyfriend chartered accountant by Julie, Minard, performed brilliantly by Maxime-Olivier Potvin.
PHOTO DAVIS OSPINA, PROVIDED BY THE DENISE-PELLETIER THEATER
Alex Bergeron, Karine Gonthier-Hyndman and Annette Garant on stage at the TDP
Whether the maker remains a comedy for young and less young audiences, its evocation of the excesses of financial capitalism, its demonstration of the great emptiness of a humanity where everything is only haggling, its surreal vision of our world carried by the lure of gain, illusioned by the money, give this adaptation an air of dystopia. Because this text has something to think about…
Who knows: maybe it is better to be poor and lucid, than rich and sick?
the maker
Text by Balzac. Adapted by Gabrielle Chapdelaine. Directed by Alice Ronfard.
Until February 18, at the Denise-Pelletier Theater