The St-Denis theater is getting a makeover and is betting big on the cabaret formula. To do this, the current second room will be converted in June into a multifunctional bar-show. One way to attract more foreign tourists, it is hoped, but also to bring 450 spectators back to Montreal.
For the legendary Latin Quarter theater has suffered for several years from the arrival of new venues worthy of the name in Quartier DIX30 and elsewhere in the suburbs. Even before the pandemic contaminated the cultural environment, the St-Denis already noted a significant drop in attendance compared to the time when it was the Mecca of Quebec humor.
“The deployment of venues in the suburbs has killed the entertainment market in Montreal. We are talking about a 40% drop. For example, Lise Dion or André-Philippe Gagnon, at the time, worked five days a week in St-Denis for a month. Today, they do two evenings a year: one Friday and one more Saturday. No one can keep a performance hall alive with just two days of occupancy, ”illustrates Lyne Dufresne, director of project implementation.
State-of-the-art performance hall
Presented with great fanfare to the media and the business community on Monday, the Studio-Cabaret will be equipped with 450 to 700 seats, considerably less than the 933 seats in the old small room, commonly called St-Denis 2.
This renovated section of Espace St-Denis, which faces Boulevard De Maisonneuve, will also have its own French bistro on the first floor, where meals for cabaret spectators will be prepared. This new restaurant will be managed by Jean Pilote, former owner of the Capitole de Québec, from whom the St-Denis is inspired for this formula.
There is also a piano bar on the top floor of the new building currently under construction, where we hope to attract the part of the public who will want to have a drink after the show.
“The idea is to create a different environment, which will make people experience something other than just sitting and watching a show. The pieces that we can see here must not be able to see them elsewhere, ”summarizes Lyne Dufresne, who also insists a lot on the latest technologies with which the Studio-Cabaret will be equipped.
The management of St-Denis hopes to attract immersive shows, but also shoots of television shows, thanks to optical fiber as well as to the sound and image studio on site. established for several years at the St-Denis theater, has already said he wants to use it.
“The future rooms will be able to accommodate our major productions as well as our shows or our recordings. But above all, let us stress that this work will greatly help revitalize the Latin Quarter, ”wrote by email Patrick Rozon, vice-president of francophone content of the Just for Laughs group, in reference to the many closures of shops and bars on the street. Saint-Denis in recent years.
Quebec and the City of Montreal also say they have a lot of hope in this project to pull up this sector, also weighed down by endless work.
Cultural tourism
The first show on view at Studio-Cabaret was not designed by Just for Laughs, but rather by the circus troupe Les 7 frères, which promises an immersive experience. Presented as of June 8 in English and French, My island, my heartr has the ambition to interest tourists.
For now, the latter represent a starving portion of the public in Montreal, with only 11% of spectators at the Quartier des spectacles in 2017 coming from abroad. Worse: they were barely 4% at the Théâtre St-Denis.
Conversely, during the same period, the Toronto entertainment offer had an audience of 35% tourists. “We are really lagging behind. It’s not that the language and the accent are a barrier, it’s that it has never been a priority. It will take several years before catching up with Toronto, maybe five, six or seven years. We must start the work now, ”argues Lyne Dufresne, promising other shows able to hold the attention of the international public.
Restoration of the old hall
The France Film Company, which operates the St-Denis theater, recognizes that this shift should have been initiated “25 or 30 years ago”, before the entertainment industry was completely changed by the arrival of digital. However, the company remains enthusiastic about the future, especially since new projects for Espace Saint-Denis are currently on the table.
The large hall of St-Denis, which has been on the street since 1916, should in particular be completely restored to recall its heritage character, which will probably require closure for 18 months from the start of work, in spring 2023.
“We’re going to tell each other, it’s ugly right now. We want to give St-Denis back its letters of nobility. We want to give it back as much as possible to its 1916 look. When entering, we have to go back 100 years, ”believes Jean-Claude Chabot, vice-president of public relations and business development for the France Film Company.