The production company The Mad Virgin, a bit superstitious, had considered skipping the 13e edition of his Tales to pass the time to directly celebrate its 14the year, just to avoid the figure of misfortune. Far from being unlucky, the new batch of this theatrical tradition of the capital perhaps has only one fault, and it is beautiful: time unfortunately passes too quickly in front of such a well-balanced show.
It’s a very exciting edition which comes to life under the venerable vaults of Maison Chevalier this year. The six authors knew how to accurately balance excess and intimacy, excess and restraint, to deliver a deliciously funny and pleasantly touching evening, all in a fireside atmosphere. Who says better ?
The tales of the 2023 vintage oscillate between the two pagan festivals that gave birth to Christmas: the Calends, a sober celebration of the established order, and the Saturnalia, which on the contrary enjoyed overthrowing it with great excess. .
The “traumawarnings” which open and close the show illustrate these two poles with succulent winks. The first warning, with a choirboy tendency, is aimed at a particularly ticklish public. “We prefer to warn you: some tales are even sad,” humorously warns the master of ceremonies, Maxime Robin.
The show begins on the Calends side and ends in a Saturnalia version. At the end, the jubilant sketch entitled Traumawarning II does not serve any before leading to a filming of the musical The song of Missouri on a rat race. The curses are flying, the buns are getting messy and, oh supreme sin, an actress even dares to light a fake cigarette without warning. The spirit of Saturnalia emerges in this theater which shouts its desire to exist, without having to apologize.
Maxime Robin, who also directs, opens the ball by telling how his “divorced family” embodies the duality of the holiday season. At his mother’s house, Christmas was wise; at his father’s house, New Year’s Eve was jazz. Brel, Ferré, Pagnol and cigarettes until 4 a.m. at one; family meals, unwrapping gifts and going to bed early at each other’s house. His tale will delve into the memories of a tender age to constitute an initiatory story well balanced between pleasure and contemplation.
The following story, written by Nadia Girard Eddahia, presents an embittered woman from the Saint-Roch district, rebelling against the advertising injunctions of happiness which haunt the “holiday frenzy”. The heroine’s heart, at first as hard as the stone of the vaults, softens upon contact with three battered people who wander around the lower town. A bit moralistic, this tale pleads for a Christmas that is combined with human communion rather than a hunt for bargains. The message hits the mark, even wrapped in good feelings.
The housing crisis inspired a deliciously amoral tale from Erika Soucy. A thirty-year-old owner, mired in the renovations of her condo bought at a discount, shouts her anger that “luxury, in Quebec in 2023, is putting a roof over your head”. Here she is catapulted to the Célébration lottery televised gala, where a live “thrill” becomes a YouTube sensation. The story, admirably portrayed by Danielle Le Saux-Farmer, makes the audience burst into laughter. Rightly so: the farce describes through absurdity the setbacks of a generation for whom $25,000 represents crumbs in an overpriced real estate market.
The evening reserves a moment of grace magnificently put into words by Sophie Grenier-Héroux — a collaborator of the Duty. His tale features a masterful Denis Marchand in the role of an ingenue from Limoilou, receptionist at the Ferland Center, ornithologist in his spare time and budding cupid, who clumsily sets out to restore the shine to the faded smile of her neighbor newly arrived from Brazil. The story evokes the difficulties of integrating, while portraying endearing wildlife. The public easily imagines these “little gentlemen with cans of Diet Pepsi who come to watch the ladies at the aquafit” while Sylvie, expert for “ shaker arm fat”, sets the tempo in the pelvis. In this colorful but closed neighborhood, the Brazilian neighbor, having landed in Quebec like a rare bird, will quickly fly to other skies to escape the cage of her solitude. The heart of the public comes irremediably to nestle against this tale, touched by its imperfect humanity.
Valérie Boutin brings up the rear in the Saint-Sauveur district, where a snowstorm echoes that which sweeps away close-knit friends who learn that cancer is lurking in their “tribe”. The curtain falls on this tale with a song that will bring tears to tears: THE shooting Stars Cowboys Fringants.
At the exit, Monday, the rain was trying to make the snow disappear from the streets of Quebec. It doesn’t matter what White Christmas is, as long as the capital has such good tales to pass the time!