Serge Denoncourt likes to “do the splits” between Europe and America, the classical repertoire and musical comedy, creation and television shows. Since 2021, this free electron has created a musical comedy about an orphan child (Annie) and another one with hippies (Hate) ; a dance show (Revolution) and another on a Catholic saint (Bernadette of Lourdes) ; without forgetting a musical based on the work of Michel Sardou (I will love you). And he is preparing to mount the stage adaptation of Hatenext October in France, with Mathieu Kassovitz.
Before diving into this spectacle based on the 1995 cult film about violence in the Parisian suburbs, Mr. Denoncourt could have taken a vacation to his house in Tuscany this summer. But that’s not knowing him well. When the production company Les Agents Doubles contacted him to take over First namethe enjoyable comedy by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patellière, he accepted with “guilty pleasure”. Because he directs a new “formidable” cast: Mikhaïl Ahooja, Noémie O’Farrell, Karine Gonthier-Hyndman, François-Xavier Dufour and Benoit Drouin Germain.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Serge Denoncourt
It’s an acting piece… And directing actors is what I like to do most in my job.
Serge Denoncourt, about the play First name
“I love working in the rehearsal room on the rhythm of the game, the diction, the details, the listening. It’s very important, listening. A good actor must know how to listen. Otherwise, you can see right away that he doesn’t know what to do on stage.”
His introduction to rap
After First name, on show in four cities in Quebec this summer, then at Duceppe in December, Denoncourt will tackle Hatred. The musical will be on stage at the Seine Musicale in Paris, starting October 10, before a tour in several cities in France. The show will bring together compositions from the best French rappers (including Proof, Médine, Cut Killer and Matthieu Chedid, known as –M-)… The director has agreed to sign the libretto for Hatred, even if, at 62, he admits to knowing nothing about rap!
Immediately afterwards, Denoncourt will fly to Rome, to direct the Italian production of Bernadette of Lourdes, show that will be the subject of an American version in 2025. We will also be able to see his show Serge in Parison TV5, in the fall. Finally, Denoncourt will be one of the judges of the competition What talent !the Quebec version of the British format Got Talent, which is also scheduled to be broadcast in Noovo’s fall schedule.
The least we can say is that the artist likes to change universes.
A “bromance” with Kassovitz
“Indeed, I like to tackle new things, not feel stuck in a box,” he says. And how did Mathieu Kassovitz’s offer come to him? “Mathieu was looking for an experienced director. Someone told him about me, telling him that it could be explosive, because we both have nasty personalities. We met in Paris and it was an instant bromance. We are truly equals in artistic collaboration. We challenge each other in our choices.”
PHOTO OLIVIER PONTBRIAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The author of HateMathieu Kassovitz, in 2018
Hatred, subtitle So far nothing has changed, is produced by Kassovitz in collaboration with Live Nation and Nouëva Productions. After France, the show is likely to travel to other countries, such as Germany and the United States… Quebec is not yet in the plans.
Is there a common thread in his career? “No, except pleasure. The pleasure of learning something new with each project, of doing what I have never done before…”
At some point, after 40 years of career, we’ve done the rounds in his search as a director. So, if I’m offered to do a musical or something I don’t know, I’ll go for it.
Serge Denoncourt
For several years, the director has been producing shows for the general public, more commercial and very different from those he created, for example, with the Théâtre de l’Opsis, the company he co-founded in the 1980s. Has he sold his creative soul to money?
“Not at all,” he swears. Bernadette…it’s the biggest risk of my career. A show about a saint, a Catholic icon, when I’m not a believer at all. In the end, I made a historical show about a stubborn, troubled, but very simple young girl. I fell in love with the character. And the show is doing very well.
“But if I’m asked to put on a play by Ingmar Bergman, with three actors, two chairs and a table, I’ll say yes tomorrow morning,” he continues. “The important thing in the theater is the actor and the emotion he transmits to the audience. Not the special effects or the production budget.”
IMAGE PROVIDED BY NORMANDY MEMORY
The multidisciplinary show on the Normandy Landings Normandy Memory offers a scene that advances over several meters, immersive, to bring the famous D-Day back to life for spectators.
Normandy Memory
In addition to his current shows, Denoncourt is on standby for the multidisciplinary mega-spectacle on the Normandy Landings, Normandy Memory. Since its first draft, this “immersive and grandiose” project, led by Quebec designer Stéphane Roy, has changed its title, location and dates… It was supposed to see the light of day last June: “I took a step back,” he explains. In France, everything is complicated with permits, etc. I told the producers to call me back when we have a site, a theater… and a premiere date.”
“I studied acting, but my childhood dream was to direct. Every morning when I wake up, I’m in my dream. That’s probably why I’m still hired after 40 years,” he concludes before leaving us quickly to take a taxi and go do what he loves best: direct actors.
First name is presented at the Théâtre Desjardins in LaSalle from July 4 to 13; at the Odyssée hall in Gatineau from July 18 to 27; at the Juliette-Lassonde Arts Centre in Saint-Hyacinthe from July 1er to August 17 and at the Albert-Rousseau hall, in Sainte-Foy, from September 12 to 15.
Visit the page of the First name
Visit the website of Hate
Visit the website of Bernadette of Lourdes (in Italian)