Inside Montreal, journalist Louis-Philippe Messier travels mainly on the run, his office in his backpack, on the lookout for fascinating subjects and people. He speaks to everyone and is interested in all walks of life in this urban chronicle.
Finally, Parc La Fontaine has just regained part of its soul!
The Théâtre de Verdure, a cultural venue that has hosted its evenings since 1956, has been reborn in a new guise… and the general public flocks to these free shows.
For its reconstruction, the new theater was closed for eight exasperating years.
During the work, the North pond of the park was reduced to the state of a weedy gravel pit.
The out-of-service fountain served as a urinal and canvas for graffiti.
But finally, the work is finished, and the result is amazing.
Difficult to repress an exclamation of admiration in front of this gigantic rectangle in peninsula, separated from the bleachers by an arm of water.
“A part of the public can see the inverted reflection of the artists”, explains a technician to whom I speak on the spot.
Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin
Architect Maria Benech in front of the new Théâtre de Verdure that she designed.
Surprisingly large
You have to approach the theatre, in front of which 2300 people can stand, including 1500 in the wooden stands, to take the measure of its size.
“The building is rectangular, but the stage is trapezoidal, so there are triangular spaces on the sides that the public cannot see but where the artists can prepare, and at the back of which are the dressing rooms,” Maria explains to me. Benech, the architect in charge of this project with the firm Lemay, with whom I visit the site.
The big difference from the 1956 version of the theater is the absence of a wall at the back of the stage. It’s open to the pond.
“I wanted the building to be as disembodied as possible so that it blends in with the scenery and by opening the background, it is the park itself that is on show when nothing is happening on stage”, says Ms. Benech.
“The inside of the rectangle is black, as in an interior scene, and the outside, as well as the bleachers, are pale.”
Ms. Benech dreams that her creation will come to be used all year round.
“It was designed for use in all four seasons, I hope that one day it will be the case and that winter shows will be held here.”
For now, the 2022 season ends on August 25 with the Grand Ballets.
As with the previous Théâtre de Verdure, all shows are free.
Photo Archive
The old Verdure theatre.
Worry
I cannot hide my admiration for this magnificent building. But how long before the first splashes of paint and damage?
Its current virginal splendor may not last.
The technicians on site during my visit expressed their love for this new building, but also the small imperfections to be corrected.
This theater is the only permanent outdoor stage in Quebec. This is not without posing some new challenges.
It would take more hook rings to fix the curtains to the floor.
And we don’t yet know what wind the cinematic projection canvas can withstand.
Unless a performance is in preparation, the site is always accessible.
“People can picnic in the bleachers, it’s fully part of the park!” enthuses Ms. Benech.