Posted at 1:00 p.m.
Who is the Corriveau? A hook-nosed witch who haunts husbands at night, or an abused wife who has committed an extreme gesture to save her children? Quebec creators will draw inspiration from both legend and reality for their new show La Corriveau, the thirst of crows.
Produced by the Théâtre de l’œil Ouvert (which gave us the musical show dedicated to Clémence DesRochers), this creation will be presented in Joliette, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts and Victoriaville in July and August. Eight performers will share the stage to tell the sad fate of Corriveau: Jean Maheux, Renaud Paradis, Frédérike Bédard, Karine Lagueux, Simon Fréchette-Daoust, Frédérique Mousseau, Simon Labelle-Ouimet. Jade Bruneau will take on the title role in addition to wearing the role of director.
The latter explains: “When we talk about Corriveau, we think above all of the legend, of the witch who killed her seven husbands in different ways. But this story is first and foremost a true story, that of a 30-year-old woman who was tried and convicted in 1763 for the murder of her angry second husband, Louis Dodier. The trial was quick and took place in English, a language that Corriveau did not understand…”
Found guilty, the mother of the family was whipped and hanged, before her body was exposed to the eyes of passers-by, locked in a cage suspended not far from the Plains of Abraham.
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PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
Frédérique Mousseau, Jean Maheux and Renaud Paradis are among the performers of Corriveau.
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PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
Frédérike Bédard will be the prosecutor.
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PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
Simon Fréchette-Daoust will interpret the role of Corriveau’s violent husband, Louis Dodier.
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PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
Jade Bruneau (center) wears the double hat of performer and director for this show.
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For this piece, which will have no less than 26 original songs, the creators wanted to dwell on the true story of Marie-Josephte Corriveau, but also on the myths and legends that hover around her name… “La Corriveau is the witch most sadly popular in Quebec,” says Geneviève Beaudet, co-author of the play with Félix Léveillé.
“La Corriveau was a woman who had character, who dared to meddle in men’s affairs,” continues Geneviève Beaudet. She had already gone to the wringer of public opinion before being charged with murder. »
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
Playwright Geneviève Beaudet
We asked ourselves the question of what treatment Corriveau would have undergone if she had been one of our contemporaries. Because even today, disturbing women are victims of prejudice and mockery…
Playwright Geneviève Beaudet
She adds: “That being said, the show will not be heavy. This is a tragicomedy that will make you laugh between two tears! We are going to give Corriveau the space it needs to tell its story. In a way, the creators want to get Marie-Josephte out of the cage where legend has locked her up.
For Jade Bruneau, the story of Corriveau is not just a news item from the distant past: it resonates more than ever in this period when cases of domestic violence, sexual assault and feminicides are on the rise. . “Victims are often publicly lynched through social media. These are causes that are still difficult for women to win. »
A story that repeats itself
In the excerpt presented this week to the media, the text with powerful words, punctuated by music that sticks to our brains, clearly traced a link between 1763 and today. History, sadly, seems to be repeating itself…even though nearly 260 years have passed.
It must be remembered that at the time of Corriveau, the social climate was tense for quite other reasons, recalls the historian Catherine Ferland, co-author of the essay La Corriveau, from history to legend.
“New France had just come under British control and everyone was wondering what was going to happen. La Corriveau, and in particular the cage where his body was locked up, also represents the patriarchy of the time. There are several levels of reading when one is interested in this woman. »
Jean Maheux agrees. “It’s a lot in batinse, this story! », Launches the one we have seen in several musical theater plays, Nelligan to The Man of La Mancha. In La Corriveau, the thirst of crows, he interprets the father of the title character. “When Jade [Bruneau] told me it was a creation, I said to myself: I’m going! He recalls that for a long time, the musical plays staged in Quebec were adaptations of what was done on Broadway. “Even at school, I wondered why we didn’t work more often with local material, rather than translating American material… eye open. The solidity of the project inspired me. The creative team is very buoyant. And it is the history of Quebec that will unfold on stage…”
La Corriveau, the thirst of crows will be presented from July 7 to 23 at the Center culturel Desjardins in Joliette, from July 27 to 31 at the Théâtre le Patriote in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts and from August 4 to 20 at Carré 150 in Victoriaville.