Stéphanie Morin’s favorites

The show of the year

The Seagull

From entering the theater in a funfair atmosphere to the punchy finale, I loved everything about this daring adaptation of Chekhov’s classic. The irreverent text by Guillaume Corbeil and the brilliant direction of Catherine Vidal are to be marked with a white stone. The performance of the performers – Mattis Savard-Verhoeven, Madeleine Sarr and Olivia Palacci in the lead – is sometimes poignant, sometimes frankly funny, but always luminous. Proof that classics can be brilliantly dusted off, without losing their soul. On the contrary !

Brilliant staging

Angela Konrad for Vernon Subutex 1+2+3

Director Angela Konrad hit hard with the adaptation of the first part of Vernon Subutex in 2022. His subversive creativity, his talent for combining humor and drama as well as his mastery in incorporating music into his stage offerings have not been denied with the arrival on stage of the second and third parts based on the novel by Virgine Despentes. We enjoyed the three parts presented in quick succession (more than six hours of show) without ever feeling an ounce of boredom. Hat.

An inspired text

Revenge and oblivion

We thought everything had been said and retold on Hamlet. The playwright Olivier Kemeid proved that not with this finely crafted text, freely inspired by Shakespeare’s most famous play (and even modern dramaturgy). Here, Hamlet has become a theater graduate who descends into madness after the death of his father. The powerful, goosebump-inducing finale is one of the most successful scenes of this 2023-2024 season.

The female interpretation

Debbie Lynch-White in Tremors

As soon as we entered the room, we knew that the room Tremors was going to happen under the sign of intensity. Shaken by spasms, dressed in simple underwear, Debbie Lynch-White was already on stage, ready to explode. And it is to an explosion that the actress invited us, that of a heart that doubts, of a friend who mourns a loved one. As if the flow of words that she machine-gunned was not enough, the performer had to deliver her performance while fighting against a stage that constantly turned. A great artistic… and physical performance.

The male interpretation

Dany Boudreault in Homicide

Obviously, Dany Boudreault had to delve into the darkness of his soul to embody in Homicide the killer Luka Rocco Magnotta. He transforms before our eyes into a would-be assassin, a boy with a hole for a heart, with a chilling desire to be seen. In an unbearable scene, he also lends his voice to his victim. A game of impeccable accuracy for a text that is extremely difficult to carry due to its hardness.

A design to highlight

The decorations ofInternal Affairsdesigned by Geneviève Lizotte

For their show Internal Affairs, artists Sophie Cadieux, Frannie Holder and Mélanie Demers needed a setting capable of expressing the notion of interiority, particularly that of women. Geneviève Lizotte gave them all that and more with her fluffy decor dominated by shades of pink. The artists could sometimes hide there, sometimes settle down there, but above all express in this enveloping space the torments of their soul.

The revelation

Gabriel Favreau

Certainly, since leaving the National School in 2017, the ink has had time to dry on his diploma. Nevertheless, it was recently that Gabriel Favreau’s career really took off with participation in two important plays: The awakening of spring And The crossing of the century. In the first, he was breathtaking in the role of Moritz, a young man with a tender heart who struggles to find his place. A charismatic actor who we hope to see again on stage soon.

The (nice) surprise

Missed threads?

The question behind this piece was perplexing: can a fatherless man become anything other than a clown? However, this show by Jean-François Nadeau represents one of the great surprises of the season. The art of clowning is magnified by two performers with heightened sensitivity: René Bazinet and David-Alexandre Després. A touching proposition, which makes you laugh and move you at the same time. There are whispers that the play could be revived next season or the following. We cross fingers.