How to bring together in a show an abundant work that spans almost 60 years, more than 30 novels and as many plays? Originally, the project was to be quite different, a creation by André Brassard around the main character of The Duchess of Langeais, a project that never came to fruition. By reconnecting with the director during the pandemic, Alice Ronfard gave the project another dimension.
“Quickly, while brainstorming, I offered him, a little jokingly, to make a Mahabharata Quebec! Then, reading Victoire !, I was fascinated by having access to the genesis of all these characters. It was when I entered the world of novels that the idea came to me of going through the century, the evolution of society and mores, with the timePlateau Mont-Royal lunches and The Desrosiers Diaspora “says the director.
For Ronfard, it was imperative to highlight Tremblay’s “mind-blowing” writing, but also to build a show that shows “the path from the novel to the theater”. With the narration transposed to the “I” and the present, instead of the past tense (“I asked Michel’s permission!” she specifies), which is intertwined with the show to prepare or conclude a dialogue scene .
“Our Mythology”
Given the place occupied by Michel Tremblay’s work in Quebec culture, it is almost surprising that such a show has not seen the light of day earlier. As with Tremblay, it was a family affair that sealed fate: “It was my son who told me: ‘You have to do it, it’s our mythology, it’s up to us, we have to let you do it!” It all really starts from a movement of the heart, from a desire to transmit this mythology of characters. I also realize, with the actors, that it is in their DNA. They come into it as if they already know them,” says Ronfard.
Far from being proud of such a statement, Michel Tremblay takes a different look at his work, almost embarrassed. “I don’t have a look! When Alice was speaking, I wanted to add that all of this happened without the author taking a single note of her life. I never planned anything, unlike Zola or Balzac. I realized that I started at the end, so I make prequels, like the Americans! But all that is written in an anachronistic way. »
To say that Ronfard was expecting this professional encounter with Tremblay’s work would be an understatement. She gets carried away talking about the novelist, who, according to her, is not appreciated at her fair value. ” From Victoire !, it’s the whole story of Quebecers who have to leave the countryside to go to town, it’s all the beauty that Victoire has to leave. The way to describe nature, the starry sky, space, I talk about it and I still have chills! »
We will find in The crossing of the century themes dear to the author (“My characters are always dreamers. They are people who have nothing and who are trying to get by. I have always preferred to talk about those who live the stakes rather than politics”, explains Tremblay), but also an insistence on the “fantastic and magical side of the work”, as Ronfard explains. “We always think of Michel Tremblay as a realist and deep, where the world suffers, but there is a lot of humor too. Albertine, for example, isn’t just tragic, she’s also scathing, she doesn’t have her tongue in her pocket! »
A festive tribute
If the replay, lasting approximately eight hours and divided into six episodes (which will be transformed into a podcast later this fall as part of the second digital season of Espace libre), is based mainly on the romantic cycles, its structure owes much to Albertine in five stages. “The piece allowed me to build the show, because I can use the same device for Victoire and Marcel, played in four and three times by different actors”, explains Ronfard.
Such an event could easily have a ceremonial or even serious aspect, which Tremblay feared. “I don’t like to think about tributes, it’s pretentious. What helped me to accept what the project has become is that Alice presented it to me as a gift for my 80th birthday, which I can accept more simply than an official affair. »
According to Ronfard, the representation promises to be more festive than stuck. “It’s not mortuary at all. I wanted a hybrid form with a setting in space, texts addressed to the public which will not be played texts in hand and a lot of music, because it takes an important place in Michel’s work. I have a beautiful gang, everyone is invested. With magnificent texts, it can’t be otherwise! »
For his part, Michel Tremblay remained withdrawn from the project, preferring to be surprised. “I like being shuffled around and, since I don’t know what awaits me for the text, it’s a perfect shuffle! »
As to whether the project is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of his work, the author remains modest and philosophical to the end. “It’s not for me to talk about the impact of my work, I don’t know! What I do know is that with the show I’m probably going to discover things and cry a lot. »