In fact, the play which will be presented starting in February at the Théâtre Prospero in Montreal, In your footstepstakes the form of an exchange. Of a dialogue.
Between Dany Boudreault and the Frenchman of Iranian origin Gurshad Shaheman, who agreed together, at the very beginning of this project, to mutually open the doors to their past. The first heading towards the Middle East on the other. The second going to Lac-Saint-Jean, in search of the same things.
Former lovers. Enemies. Loves. Sisters. Uncles. Parents. Then important places, too.
All kinds of “fragments” of life that would allow each person to piece together the other’s puzzle. And at the same time to solve some of the “enigmas”, using a new perspective.
“I went to France, Turkey, Istanbul, to the Iranian border. He came to Montreal, to Quebec, to Lac-Saint-Jean. During the great fires, in June 2023. He went to Roberval, to Saint-Gédéon, he experienced Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day with the allegorical floats. He went to see my aunt in Row 2, we told her about the farm of my childhood,” explains Dany Boudreault.
“It’s very beautiful to see the region described by a foreigner. It’s very touching.”
Their trips followed a pivotal week-long meeting in Sarajevo. Spent discussing their lives, tracing the contours of this dizzying experience.
Because it takes confidence and limits, to bring your own baggage on stage, admits the actor from Métabetchouan. By specifying that the format of the work will have helped a lot.
Dany Boudreault talks about a piece that uses reality, without submitting entirely to it. Who offers a truth, without claiming that it is the only one.
“I had absolute confidence in Gurshad. I couldn’t have done that with many people in my life. And in our initial pact, we said to ourselves that we would never give access to the recordings, to what people said about us.
What the spectators hear in the room, with two-channel headsets which allow them to switch from one monologue to another manually, is “the sorting” of the testimonies collected. Written by four hands, with respect.
“We each had our quest. He was to deepen the silences in my family. For me it was to bring together all the scattered members of his family,” shares Dany Boudreault.
“People were talking to me about Gurshad. Whether it’s his mother or his homophobic uncle in Istanbul. But very quickly, by asking them questions, they started talking about themselves. That’s what’s interesting: it becomes a gallery of portraits of people we meet,” continues the actor.
Dany Boudreault is originally from Métabetchouan. (Courtesy)
During the first performances of In your footsteps in Paris, Brussels and Montreal, recently, Dany Boudreault saw the formula prove its worth. Both among European critics – the unique staging device having been particularly applauded by the magazine Telerama – that of Jeannois’s mother. Who seems to have liked the end result, despite “upsetting” revelations about his son.
The main person also learned a lot. He was also upset. Both through things said and unsaid.
But it is with enthusiasm that he speaks to us about the project and this series of upcoming performances, from February 4 to 22 at the Prospero Theater.
“Like a beautiful flower”
Especially since it follows another great success, within this same company. His role inspired by Luka Rocco Magnotta, in the play Homicidehaving earned him the title of Best Male Performance last December from the Quebec Theater Critics Association.
An honor that he received “like a flower”, at the end of an experience that was most significant.
“It’s one of the most demanding roles I’ve had to play. It was a pleasure to play in front of the public, but a lot of work in rehearsal. […] I worked on this for four years, in and outand I think it showed. We let the subject infuse in depth. I researched a lot about the character, and I created something very personal, which was not just mimicry.”
“It’s a character that I left, but who didn’t leave me,” added Dany Boudreault.
The lake in the lead
And to return to the piece In your footstepsthe actor indicates that he would like to take him on tour, even to his native Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, possibly. “It would really speak to people in the region, that’s obvious!”
In the meantime, the regional public will be able to discover the story in literary form, in a book which will arrive in Quebec bookstores from mid-January. And he will be able to see the actor in the series My faultthis winter, on ICI Télé.
