Thirty years after its creation, The Queens, a masterpiece of Quebec dramaturgy, is taking to the TNM stages with an all-star cast, made up of six actresses in total mastery of their art. A powerful but demanding moment of theater, both for those who wear it and for those who receive it.
Normand Chaurette knows every nook and cranny of the work of William Shakespeare, of which he has translated many pieces. Not surprisingly, it was on the side of the great English playwright that the Quebecer found inspiration for The Queens. True to the adage that behind every great man hides a woman, Chaurette articulated her play author of those who, in the shadow of kings, live their dream of greatness behind the scenes of the court of London.
Troubled times
The chosen period is particularly cloudy. King Edward IV is dying and his brother, the terrible Richard III, is preparing to use a thousand stratagems (including murders) to usurp the throne. At court, women are trying to reposition themselves on the chessboard of power.
Queen Elizabeth (Kathleen Fortin, with a funny that sometimes clashes) wants to protect her children, legitimate heirs to the throne, from the clutches of Richard. Isabelle de Warwick (Céline Bonnier, frighteningly calculating coldness) schemes to have her husband, George the silent, crowned. And her younger daughter, Anne de Warwick (Sophie Cadieux, childish and treacherous at will), is ready to do anything to help Richard in his disastrous plans.
In front of them, the fielleuse Marguerite (Monique Spaziani, fabulous), the old Duchess of York (Sylvie Léonard) and the mysterious Anne Dexter (Marie-Pier Labrecque) attend all these negotiations, each with a different desire that gnaws at them.
Complex partitions
Normand Chaurette imagined complex scores for these dry-hearted queens, where grandiose arias coexist with concertos for several voices.
The monologue of the king’s agony, superbly rendered by Monique Spaziani, is a piece of anthology.
Especially since the very literary and metaphorical text of Chaurette is not the easiest to tame. It also takes some time for the viewer to grasp who’s who in the convoluted family tree of English royalty …
PHOTO YVES RENAUD, PROVIDED BY TNM
Kathleen Fortin, Sophie Cadieux and Monique Spaziani, draped in costumes signed Ginette Noiseux
Director Denis Marleau has chosen to place the performers in a gray setting made of a labyrinth of stairs and landings, which alone sums up all the complexity of the relationships between these women. The video images of snow falling tirelessly in the background add to the suffocation. These women are indeed trapped in their disproportionate ambition …
For the costumes, Ginette Noiseux draped each woman in different colored fabrics. The result is splendid. Alexander MacSween’s original music adds a disturbing touch to the already scary vibe.
In short, all the elements are in place to do wonderfully justice to this bushy and intense work, which shone – we understand why – on several major stages of the world.
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The Queens
By Normand Chaurette, directed by Denis Marleau
With Céline Bonnier, Sophie Cadieux, Kathleen Fortin, Marie-Pier Labrecque, Sylvie Léonard and Monique Spaziani
At the New World Theater, Until December 11