The Ten Commandments by Dorothy Dix | Julie Le Breton, alone in the arena

Twice a month, The Press presents news in the world of theatre, circus and dance, in Montreal and Quebec

Luc Boulanger
The Press

Julie Le Breton experienced two professional baptisms a few weeks apart.

First by working with actor and director Xavier Dolan for the first time. She ended the year 2021 with the filming of the series The night Laurier Gaudreault woke up. And then defending his first solo at the theater, The Ten Commandments by Dorothy Dix, a creation by Stéphanie Jasmin, under the direction of Denis Marleau, which hits theaters this Tuesday. A first collaboration between the luminous actress and the director of the Théâtre Ubu.

In interview with The Pressthe star of Beautiful discomforts said he hesitated before agreeing to play this solo presented at Espace Go for the reopening of theaters. “I’m a solitary person in life, but very gregarious at work. For me, the theater is a meeting place with the public, but it is also a gang affair. »

Julie Le Breton sought advice from actresses who have already performed solos – including Sophie Cadieux. “I wanted, among other things, to know how, without any interlocutor, a performer can revive himself during the performance. The actor becomes like his own engine to move forward and propel himself onto the stage. »

The work was long drawn out. It began well before the weeks of rehearsals scheduled for January. ” I had the chance [dans la malchance du confinement] to have access to the room and the decor for a month last year, she said. With Denis Marleau and Stéphanie Jasmin, we did creative laboratories. Then, I worked on my text on my side, and I had other meetings with the production. It allowed me to align my acting with the striking theatricality of Ubu. For 40 years, this company has had a particular, very coherent way of approaching dramaturgy. »

text lover

The character in this 47-page monologue (the play is published by Éditions Somme tout) is inspired by Stéphanie Jasmin’s grandmother, who lived past the age of 100 – and the conversations she had with her . It is also the quest of a woman “happy by accident, by chance”, who has long sought peace to move forward in life.

Another reason why the actress accepted the role of Dorothy Dix [qui devait être joué par Christiane Pasquier avant la pandémie]it is the evocative power of this word of a woman who crossed the XX^and century. And who dives into the film of his life: “I fell in love with this text, says Julie Le Breton. The voice of this centenarian woman who gives us access to her intimacy, her psyche. »

This woman tells her story in the play by referring to the Ten commandments to be happy by American journalist Dorothy Dix. “She gave herself rules, a framework, which served as a guide throughout her life. It is also a tribute to the beauty of art through the encounter between a grandmother and a granddaughter. »

After Montreal, the production will be presented at the National Arts Center in Ottawa in March. She will fly to Paris in June, at the Théâtre de la Colline. It will also be a baptism of the boards of Julie Le Breton in Paris.

Tour with Dolan

We asked the actress to tell us about her experience on the set of the series The night Laurier Gaudreault woke up, which she finished before the holidays. “The shoot was great! This is the first time I worked with Xavier [Dolan]. I realize an old dream. I had a kind of master class in filmmaking watching him work with André Turpin [le directeur photo] ; watching him transpose the story into his cinematographic language, looking for meaning, intelligence, for each scene, for each shot… The little I saw was quite dazzling! I’m really looking forward to seeing the end result. »

The five-episode series adapted from the play by Michel Marc Bouchard, created at the TNM in 2019, also stars Éric Bruneau, Patrick Hivon and Magalie Lépine-Blondeau. Currently being edited, it will be available on Club illico probably next fall.

The Ten Commandments by Dorothy Dixfrom February 8 to 27

Also on display

That Moment – ​​The land of idiots

The Théâtre de l’Opsis resumes at the Salle Fred Barry of the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier That Moment – ​​The land of idiots, a show swept by in 2020. We attended the premiere with great pleasure: this squeaky piece, signed by the Moldovan Nicoleta Esinencu, is a real charge against overconsumption and corruption, in a tormented society where everything haggles. The very physical acting of the five actors, skilfully directed by Luce Pelletier, culminates in an almost apocalyptic choreography by Sylvain Émard. A spectacle that one receives like a blow to the plexus. From February 17 to March 12.

Stephanie Morin, The Press

The three sisters

The Théâtre du Nouveau Monde takes over the classic The three sisters by Anton Chekhov, directed by René Richard Cyr. Marie-Pier Labrecque, Jean-Philippe Perras and Jean-François Casabonne join the cast, which has 11 performers, including Émilie Bibeau, Rebecca Vachon and Noémie Godin-Vigneau. Note: the play won the Best Director Award for the 2019-2010 season, awarded by the Association québécoise des critiques de théâtre. In March and April, the show will also visit nine cities in Quebec, including Gatineau, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières. From February 17 to March 5.

Stephanie Morin, The Press

Interior

Lighting designer, scenographer and director Cédric Delorme-Bouchard drew inspiration from the work of symbolism master Maurice Maeterlinck for his new show, a “choral installation” entitled Interior. Presented as a world premiere at Usine C, this short 60-minute play brings together no less than 25 people on stage, including 8 actors (Lise Roy, Paul Ahmarani and Gabrielle Lessard, in particular) and a choir led by singer Noémi Lira. A work which, it is said, “unfolds like a contemplative requiem on the fragility of the human experience”. From February 15 to 18.

Stephanie Morin, The Press

Limbo

The Théâtre Aux Écuries presents the most recent creation of playwright and director Amélie Dallaire. The title of this “existential comedy”: Limbo. In a conference room, three characters (played by Karine Gonthier-Hyndman, Raphaëlle Lalande and Olivier Morin) introduce themselves to the public. Quickly, their interventions turn into digressions and the chaos that emerges “becomes the starting point of a constructive and creative impulse for the three characters, haunted by the mysterious empty chair that a fourth person occupied before his disappearance…” Du February 17 to 1^er March.

Stephanie Morin, The Press

The knot

The Unicorn presents the coin The knot, by the American Johnna Adams, translated for the first time into French by Maryse Warda. In this disturbing exclusively female camera, the mother of an 11-year-old boy and his teacher come face to face to try to understand the unspeakable: the child’s suicide. Marie-Joanne Boucher and Édith Paquet share the stage here, directed by Guillermina Kerwin. The play is presented in the intimate room of the theater on rue Papineau. From February 14 to March 11.

Stephanie Morin, The Press