David Goudreault is “first and foremost” a writer. It would never occur to the author of the successful trilogy The beast to describe himself as a comedian, even less as a musician. However, he wears all his hats, and even more, in his new show, On the sidelines of text, for which he collaborated with Mariana Mazza and Richard Séguin. A premise that couldn’t be more eclectic. It’s difficult to imagine personalities so distant at first glance united around the same project. But in the end, this solo show reflects the shattered, unspeakable artist who wears it.
This is not the first time that David Goudreault has taken to the stage. From 2017 to 2021, he traveled across Quebec with At the tip of your tongue, a show in which he introduced the public to the texts that inspired him. This literary dimension is still very present in Alongside the text, interspersed with poems. Some of his own, others by key figures of Quebec poetry.
“Many people who will come to see the show will never read Anne Hébert or Claude Gauvreau. Their only contact with Quebec poetry will be through my show, and I am proud of that. I made it my mission to introduce authors to the general public,” says David Goudreault, who specifies that this second show is however intended to be much more humorous than the previous one.
The author of Maple and of Your death to me was already used to playing with turns of phrase. His passion for slam will have sharpened his timing and his sense of punch. Every word, every comma, every silence counts, in poetry as in humor. The fact remains that writing jokes — good ones jokes which make people laugh, and not just smile – proved to be a perilous stylistic exercise for him.
“It’s much easier to scratch the pathos than to seek out a hearty laugh. But I think I’m achieving that with this new show. What reassured me was hearing Mariana’s big, fat laugh during rehearsals,” says David Goudreault, who asked the popular comedian for advice on script-editing the texts.
A collaboration that seems a little unnatural at first glance, but David Goudreault wanted to work with Mariana Mazza, because he admires the energy and passion she exudes on stage. As for the more poetic part of the project, David Goudreault was able to count on the help of his friend Richard Séguin.
Unfailing determination
Alternating between poetry and humor, Alongside the text is a show that appeals to the audience’s intelligence. The whole range of emotions is solicited. You can laugh out loud and be on the verge of tears within a few minutes of each other, warns David Goudreault.
The latter could have limited itself to a single register in order to hope to speak to as many people as possible. His approach would surely have been less complicated to explain. But the artist is not used to compromise. And so far, we have to admit that his intransigence has not really harmed him.
“We can distort ourselves to be accessible. But I don’t want to fall into that trap. I didn’t make any concessions in my novels either. Everyone believed, my publisher first and foremost, that we would only address a few readers. Myself, I mainly thought I was talking to young adults. Finally, we reached more than 200,000 books sold for The beast. It is clear that I am less nested than I thought,” says with a touch of irony the man who last year became one of the rare Quebec writers to appear in The illustrated Robert.
If David Goudreault is demanding of the public, he is also demanding of himself. For this show, he even took on the challenge of learning to play the piano in just a few months. “I realized that the piano was less accessible than I had initially thought. In November I did some running in and kept making mistakes. It was a disaster. But as I had announced, it was too late. So I worked harder. I said I was going to play the piano, so I play the piano,” he insists with determination.
Sobriety tastes much better
This will is what has also allowed him to stay sober for 15 years now, despite the ups and downs of everyday life. And God knows that, in recent months, there has been no shortage of trials. Her Letter to the little guysrecited on the set of Good evening ! in April 2021, plunged him into a controversy which he would have done well without.
This slam, in which he called on men to question toxic masculinity, quickly went viral, garnering hundreds of thousands of views on different platforms. Many welcomed the initiative. But on social networks, he will be accused of being a false ally and of appropriating the feminist fight.
“I keep a certain trauma from it. I am traumatized by the extent it took. It went really far. There are such false things that have been said about me,” he laments in an interview with Dutywithout wanting to go into details, in a hurry to move on.
In The letters attacheda collection published in the fall in which he annotated all the texts of his slams read at Good evening !, he says he assumes his Letter to the little guys and is delighted that the video can still be seen on the Internet. But knowing all the trouble this number caused him, he writes that he would not do it again today.
After taking a one-year media break – a decision he made before this whole saga, he wants to point out – David Goudreault returns today more peaceful. He owes this balance in large part to his partner, the poet Geneviève Rioux, who provides the first part ofIn the margin of the text. The idea of reconnecting with his demons to stimulate creation never crossed his mind. In his new show, he strives to deconstruct this tenacious myth that artificial paradises invigorate inspiration.
“There is absolutely nothing that we create that is produced by substance. Yes, it can disinhibit, it can make the first draft easier. But I don’t think the genie is in the bottle. I’m so much better about myself, in my life, that the game isn’t worth it anyway. And so much the better if my speech can inspire people. Me, if I was able to stop, it’s precisely because people welcomed me and inspired me,” he confesses between two sips of kombucha.
No thanks to politics
In recent years, David Goudreault has somewhat become the new standard-bearer in the fight against addiction, a title that he fully embraces, not fearing to be confined to it.
Still, few personalities from the literary world in Quebec can boast of enjoying such notoriety. And this visibility will have earned him all kinds of unexpected opportunities. Even being approached by political parties.
A convinced sovereignist, ardent defender of the French fact, he was flattered by it. But David Goudreault will not make a Gérald Godin of himself by diving into the political arena. At least not in the short term. “I am more and more convinced that Quebec has nothing to do in Canada. Politics interests me, yes. I am closely following what is happening. But right now, it’s really not the right time,” says the father of two young children unambiguously.
In any case, David Goudreault is already quite busy these days. He has a show, arguably the most ambitious project of his career, to deliver.