The fire that broke out in a part of the Théâtre de Nouveau Monde under renovation on Thursday morning caused more fear than harm. But it gave quite a scare to its director Lorraine Pintal.
Posted at 8:22
Updated at 5:04 p.m.
“I lived the worst hour of my life,” says the one who has held the reins of the Montreal institution for 30 years.
Between the moment the flames started, at 7 a.m., and her arrival at the TNM more than an hour later, Lorraine Pintal “expected the worst”, she says.
“I was sure the theater was completely on fire. It’s the worst nightmare. The Saint-Urbain area was completely blocked off, everyone was calling me… The news was bad the whole time I went. »
It wasn’t until 8:45 a.m. that the director began to breathe a little again. But several hours later, the images of the burning theater still crossed his mind. “You shouldn’t think about that. I try to stay focused on optimism and hope. »
Thick black smoke billowed from the TNM building early Thursday morning, at the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Urbain streets. The Montreal Fire Department arrived at 7:00 a.m., the fire was quickly brought under control and everyone on site was evacuated.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The artistic and general director of the TNM, Lorraine Pintal.
“Luckily no one was injured, there was no serious accident. »
After visiting the theater in the morning and analyzing the damage, Lorraine Pintal was able to see that the interior of the theater had not been affected. The fire, which broke out in the landing stage, could not spread.
“It’s as if there had been an airtight wall between the landing stage and the room. It was in the stairs, the corridors, the amplification and transformer areas that there was water infiltration. »
After analysis, the TNM still preferred to postpone the first three performances of the Seven Branches of the Ōta River by Robert Lepage, those of this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The other five, which are scheduled for August 26, 27 and 28 as well as September 3 and 4, are maintained.
It is better to give yourself time to put the theater in order. But we will be ready next week to welcome the public.
Lorraine Pintal, director of the TNM
In the meantime, “armed to the teeth” cleaning teams are hard at work, costumes and wigs have gone to the cleaners, strategic areas are being dried.
” Everything is under control. The big question is what state our amplifiers and transformers are in. But even if it’s damaged it’s not irreparable, and it can also be rented if necessary. I don’t think that will handicap the performances next week. »
Hard blow
The fire started while a team of welders was working on the second level of the landing stage, specifies Lorraine Pintal. “Sparks fell into the area of the amplifiers, which were protected by mineral wool. It was the mineral wool that caught fire and it happened very quickly. »
The insurance of the TNM expansion project manager, LEM, will pay for the damage caused by the fire. The work, undertaken in the summer of 2021, should normally be completed in November 2023, and Lorraine Pintal does not believe that this event will have an impact on the schedule.
“It’s luck in our misfortune, we were only at the stage of the structure, the concrete and the steel. We have to stop the work until it becomes safe again, but that will have no impact on the schedule. I hope I won’t contradict myself in a month! »
The TNM team is currently working on finding postponement dates for the three performances of seven branches of the river Ota that need to be moved. “We already had an additional one planned, but not announced, it will be used for Friday’s performance. We only have two left to find. »
No question of cancellation therefore.
” I hope not ! We reimbursed a lot of tickets during the pandemic, we would like that to stop… ”
At the dawn of a new season, this fire is a blow for the TNM – moreover, laptops from the production were stolen on Tuesday, intruders having taken advantage of the comings and goings caused by the works for s enter the building.
“It’s been a nightmarish week. Today, we live it as a day of mourning. After two years of pandemic, we were talking about a rebirth at the TNM, so it’s hard. For teams, for everyone. But we’ll get through it, as always. »
With Mayssa Ferah, La Presse