Thousand is first and foremost a family story. At 13, Monique Spaziani learned that her biological father was not the one she believed and that she was therefore not of Italian origin. In 2018, she came into contact with her half-brother, who told her about their father.
But the actress was not at the end of her surprises during the research process surrounding this piece, which turns her genealogical history into fiction. An adventure directed by Mani Soleymanlou, specialist in biographical shows, and written by Olivier Kemeid, already author of the beautiful Me, in the red ruins of the century (based on the life of another actor, Sasha Samar).
The playwright based himself on several conversations held with Monique Spaziani – who preferred not to grant an interview, wishing to concentrate on rehearsals -, his found brother, Robert Polka, and his own daughter, the actress Philomène Bilodeau, who share the Quat’Sous stage. He also had access to private archives.
The piece is an investigation “which resembles the one we conducted and which we transmit to the public”, he says. “And what is fascinating is that we have learned a lot of things, but the mystery also deepens. Every time you learn something, four more questions come up. Me, I got into an obsession, because I also did a lot of historical research, linked to the Second World War, and sometimes I managed to confirm my hypotheses by coming across another element of personal archives. But I still have 100 unanswered questions. And we have to accept that we will never know everything. This can be quite disturbing for some, but to me, it seems that sometimes it relieves me. Because we can remain prisoners of our origins. It’s great to have a mystery that allows us to reinterpret, to invent ourselves. »
“I think that for my mother too, it’s important to create a part of fiction like no one else,” adds Philomène Bilodeau. And to leave doubt in this room: was all this invented? Because there are so many different perceptions, [selon] people. And since we are actresses, it’s like playing with this immense search for truth, but where there are also plenty of parts that are subjective and perhaps fictional. Or not. Even we don’t know. »
The young actress believes that the play aims to reproduce the feeling that Kemeid and Soleymanlou felt when receiving the revelations from Monique Spaziani, as well as to recreate these reactions of surprise in the viewer, who could also recognize elements of their own history. family. Thousand evokes the multiple layers and narratives that make up our identities.
The astonishing father figure, by turns a spy and a jewelry salesman with an incredible life, keeps his areas of mystery there. Also because he left different memories in those who knew him. “My grandmother’s perception is really not the same as Rob’s,” notes her granddaughter. 1000 Émile ago, he changed his name, he was not the same person according to the people he met. That’s also intriguing. »
Convey ?
The artists do not want to reveal everything. But with a very present klezmer music trio on stage, who will play the compositions of Josh “Socalled” Dolgin, it’s hard to hide that Thousand traces the fate of a Jewish family, exiled from Austria in the context of Nazi annexation. This link with the Holocaust upset Olivier Kemeid, who sees in it “disturbing news: how the Jews – these are the first times that the term “political refugee” has been used – were tossed from one country to another, each wanted to get rid of it.”
And the author reminds us, it’s his “fun hobby”, that contrary to what some might have us believe, Quebec is not “in the suburbs of history”. “Montreal was the second home of the Jewish diaspora in America. So we also tell a very Montreal story, in a theater that is a former synagogue, a stone’s throw from a street, Saint-Laurent, which was largely built by waves of immigrants. For me, we also contribute to the debate by saying: what seems so far away to you is your downstairs neighbor who possibly has those origins. »
For Philomène Bilodeau, it is important to know our origins and to disseminate this knowledge so as not to reproduce the errors of the past. “I heard on the radio that a majority of young people between the ages of 18 and 35 don’t know about the Second World War! »
However, the play raises the question of the transmission of identity, of what one decides to bequeath to one’s children. “Me, I make it a subject, but I understand that there are people for whom it becomes a burden, the past, says the author. A character in our play is torn over this: what are you transmitting? Are you transmitting trauma? »
Montreal was the second home of the Jewish diaspora in America. So we also tell a very Montreal story, in a theater that is a former synagogue, a stone’s throw from Saint-Laurent Street, which was largely built by waves of immigrants.
Playing for the first time with Monique Spaziani — “she’s no longer my mother, she’s my friend, I rediscover her as an actress who has fun —, Philomène Bilodeau interprets here, among other characters, a more intense version of herself. “It’s like ourselves, but with a bit of theatricality added. Farmer in life, having “done a little theater in Dawson”, Robert Polka, he proved to be “the most game everyone” to embark on this unusual adventure.
We imagine that it is a surreal experience, to share the boards with parents to tell the story of his family. The actress says she is moved. “It’s extraordinary,” says Kemeid. This family, which has been so dispersed by the ravages of history, is finally reunited on stage. Even with the father, invited as a ghost, but still there. Just that was worth it. »