Final part of a “collapsology cycle”, The fabulous species is a free adaptation of the eponymous essay by Nancy Huston. A slightly anxiety-provoking spectacle which speaks of the collapse of our civilization, and the uncertain continuation of our history.
The author and designer of the Pirata Théâtre company, Michelle Parent, began her cycle in 2020 with How to marry a millionairebefore continuing with 100 seconds before midnight. Two shows which announced the collapse of our system, whether economically, socially or environmentally.
With The fabulous species, here we are. In hot water. Scientists’ reports on global warming have been ignored. Calls for economic degrowth were followed by a burst of laughter. The population continues to grow. The actions of the activists were ridiculed, in short, think about the film Don’t Look Up and you have a bit of an idea.
As usual, Michelle Parent brought together actors and non-actors on stage, always a risky gamble, but which surprisingly works quite well. This time, she chose performers who experienced a “personal breakdown” that they managed to overcome. These six performers thus broaden the discussion on the state of the world and ways to survive the disasters that await us…
We have the piece in mind Lost paradise by Jean Leloup… “First of all there will be the challenging tests. There will be storms, seas of oil. There will be deadly waves. There will be reefs, there will be reefs. There will be sharks, there will be scurvy, diseases. There will be mutinies. And many of us will lose our lives…”
If you suffer from ecoanxiety, this show may not be an outing that we recommend…
But back to The fabulous species, which despite a super interesting premise, struggles to find its way to the viewer, especially during the first half of the show. Is it because of the shaggy and sometimes disjointed text? Or the confusing spatial layout where the performers give the impression of playing an improvisation match by moving around a portable radio carrying bad news?
In any case, we never go into the details of the performers’ “personal breakdowns”, we only imply them, in a certain confusion.
There are still two interesting avenues which are becoming clearer little by little. The first is the parallel with the work of Nancy Huston, which answers questions submitted by the designers of The fabulous species. In a recording played on stage, we hear him explain the thesis of his essay, namely that we are all “walking stories” and that being the only species aware of its mortality, we tell ourselves stories or narratives to give meaning to our lives, to protect us too.
If we extrapolate, we can ask ourselves: in a world that is collapsing (or completely collapsing!), what will be the story we will tell ourselves?
The other interesting avenue, which is fleshed out in the second part, is that of Sunflowers by Van Gogh – a greenhouse with sunflowers is also placed in the center of the scene. We recall in particular the story of environmental activists from the Just Stop Oil movement, who threw tomato soup on the Dutch painter’s masterpiece at the National Gallery in London last year (without damaging it) .
This gesture, ridiculed by several observers, is nevertheless a call for help to preserve nature. But unfortunately, there are some topics we just don’t want to talk about. The environment is one. We won’t talk about it until it’s too late… French ecologist Yves Cochet even predicts that humanity could disappear in 2050…
In the end, the flowers will remain, one of the performers will say. Flowers and… a call for revolution. The only way left to survive this collapse, a voice off-camera tells us. What story are we going to tell ourselves after seeing this show so we can go about our business as if nothing had happened?
The fabulous species
By Michelle Parent. Design Marie-Ève Fortier, Andréanne Deschênes, Michelle Parent. With six performers.
At the Stables Until October 28