Very busy with his novels and their adaptations, Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard has not written a new play for the theater since ass slicer and The singularity is near, eight years ago. In appearance, at least. Because the author of wildlife handbookin residence with the company PÀP, has been working with the director Patrice Dubois and the collective L’Ensemble on the creation of a work for six years and dust.
The author, also an actor trained at the Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe (Patrice Dubois was also his acting teacher in 2008), therefore proposes you are animal. A (very) black comedy which will be on view next Tuesday at Quat’Sous. A play that mixes fiction and reality, a “theatrical documenter” on the mechanisms of disinformation and the great media machine.
The scene takes place in 2022 in a strange world that resembles ours. A renowned naturalist, Charles Darwin, has just published his scientific work The origin of species. Gold, the theory of natural selection will plunge Darwin (played by Lyndz Dantiste) into the heart of a media scandal. His essay aroused the ire of a large part of the scientific community. And his theory is sharply criticized, even condemned, by activists from various backgrounds and political opinions.
In this play, the author of High demolition examines the media spectrum and the mechanism of contamination of scientific news in the age of misinformation.
He will also go back on stage to play an eponymous character in his play. “At the start, my character as a documentary filmmaker addresses the audience to warn them that everything that is said on stage, every word, was spoken as it is in front of me or in the media,” explains Baril Guérard. I got in the way as an author, but it’s a blessing in disguise, because it will enrich the show. »
media storm
Alongside the approach of the character of the documentary filmmaker played by Baril Guérard, we follow Darwin’s media tour in Quebec and the United States. And the controversy caused by its scientific hypotheses, transformed in the media and by the whirlwind of everyone’s opinions.
In the play, Darwin will go through a big media storm. “He will become the subject instead of his work. We will see how far a person can go to defend his ideas in the public square, explains the author. In an earlier version of the text, a character said: “I realize that in life you can be right or you can have peace. But never both at the same time…”
The starting point of you are animal was the race for the Republican primaries in 2016. The young author witnessed, like everyone else, Donald Trump’s dizzying rise to the White House, driven among other things by the concept of fake news.
However, today, the expression is common in public discourse.
Amplify a false message
“What interests me with this concept is to see how the media ecosystem can amplify a false message. And also, with the distance of fiction, to examine our deficit of media literacy. Nowadays, people equate an investigation by Marie-Maude Denis with a column by Gilles Proulx. It is difficult to separate the opinion of the kitchen from serious information,” laments Baril Guérard.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
“The urgency to say must be accompanied by the urgency of the gesture,” says director Patrice Dubois (left), as part of the creation of You are animal, by the Théâtre PÀP.
The director Patrice Dubois indicates that you are animal is the first production created by his company in collaboration with L’Ensemble. A group of permanent artists formed by Dany Boudreault, Laurence Dauphinais, Marie-Hélène Thibault, Harry Standjofski and Dubois himself. The Ensemble followed the various versions and stages of the text, during creative workshops, in parallel with other PÀP projects.
“At PÀP, we don’t have a mould,” explains Dubois. We are here to adapt to the needs of artists and to support authors in each stage of their creation. It’s important to work in this way upstream with the creators, without the constraints of a production schedule. Everyone is responsible for their department, but at the same time, no one is shy about making suggestions. We are here to build a common object. »
you are animal by Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard, directed by Patrice Dubois. At the Théâtre de Quat’Sous, from January 17 to February 11.
Also on display
Quills
PHOTO CHRISTOPHE MANQUILLET, PROVIDED BY LE DIAMANT
Robert Lepage is one of the performers of the play Quills.
Robert Lepage slips back into the clothes of the Marquis de Sade for the Diamond revival of the play Quills. This sumptuous production bears several signatures, namely those of Doug White (text), Jean-Pierre Cloutier (translation and direction) and Robert Lepage (direction and interpretation). The piece carried by six performers tells the story of the sulphurous writer who spent 30 years of his life behind bars and tackles subjects such as censorship and freedom of expression. When passing from Quills at Usine C, in 2016, the critics hailed the burning topicality of the subject and the ingenuity of the staging.
The piece, intended for ages 13 and over, is presented exclusively at Le Diamant from January 11 to 28.
The Potential Theater Factory
PHOTO PASCALE GAUTHIER-DIONNE, PROVIDED BY THE LNI THEATER
The show The Potential Theater Factory brings together five actor-improvisers.
Five performers-improvisers and a director (François-Étienne Paré) pool their creativity and inspiration in the show The Potential Theater Factory imagined by the band of the National League of Improvisation (LNI). Here, the public is invited to add their two cents to the performance through an interactive digital platform. The result: a 90-minute long improvisation, created live and strongly rooted in contemporary theatre. A show, with costumes and sets, which will change night after night…
From January 17 to February 4, at the Espace Libre.
Mauritius
PHOTO EMILIE DUMAIS, PROVIDED BY THE CENTER DU THÉÂTRE D’AUJOURD’HUI
Anne-Marie Olivier (left) plays Maurice, a man transformed by a stroke.
Before his stroke, Maurice Dancause was a brilliant economist. A lot of things have changed and the man has become a theater character. Indeed, Anne-Marie Olivier was inspired by this true story for the piece Mauritius, directed by Olivier Arteau. The woman of the theater embodies this man completely transformed by the accident: his tastes, his sensitivity, his ability to speak and even his personality are no longer as before. Maurice could have been discouraged; he chose to embrace this new life…
At the Salle Jean-Claude-Germain of the Center du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, from January 17 to February 4.
The ICES
PHOTO SUZANE O’NEILL, PROVIDED BY LA BORDÉE THEATER
Debbie Lynch-White and Christian Michaud are part of the cast of Les Glaces.
After a successful stint at La Licorne, this play by playwright Rébecca Déraspe and directed by Maryse Lapierre is coming to La Bordée de Québec. This is an opportunity to discover the moving story of Noémie, a woman who decides to confront those who assaulted her when she was a teenager, even if it means upsetting the orderly lives of the two men… This very nuanced and full of humanity is carried by a sparkling cast, in which Debbie Lynch-White and Daniel Gadouas shine in particular.
From January 10 to February 4, at La Bordée.
Brilliant
PHOTO XAVIER CYR, PROVIDED BY THE DENISE-PELLETIER THEATER
Thomas Derasp-Verge is part of the cast of Brillante.
On the ruins of an old school, a group of children and teenagers are killing time. The fragile balance of the band is shaken by the arrival of a newcomer, an orphan who claims to have a magic doll. Some believe in it, others cry delirium… A power struggle sets in. Clara Prévost signs the text and the direction of this “tale for all”, which brings together on stage seven performers, including Marine Johnson and Alice Moreault.
At Salle Fred-Barry, Théâtre Denise-Pelletier, from January 17 to February 4.