The play Santa Claus is a bastard is as enjoyable to watch on stage as it is behind the scenes. The QMI agency followed the troupe behind the scenes as they performed this classic with actress Brigitte Lafleur.
It is 6:45 p.m. Backstage at the Manuvie Theatre in Brossard, actors Jean-Michel Anctil, Mario Jean and Pierre-François Legendre meet up and catch up. The atmosphere is light.
“Talking about something else before a show is a sign that everyone is more turned on before it starts,” says Brigitte Lafleur in the dressing room she shares with Josée Deschênes, who has already started her preparation. “We all look a little taouin.”
Maude Larin-Kieran /QMI Agency
“I’m not one to work out or warm up a lot or really have vocal routines or warm ups, but right now, I have no choice. I move around a lot and I got injured last year,” says the actress who plays Josette in the cast.
Before the show, she indulges in a stretching session that has transformed her body. “I’ve become muscular, a little too muscular even,” adds the actress with a laugh.
The character she plays is a pregnant woman who faces several obstacles. She has a complicated relationship with her partner and her lifestyle leaves something to be desired. During the play, she visits the offices of the SOS Amitié organization on Christmas Eve like several other characters in the play.
Before each performance, Brigitte always feels a certain nervousness settling in the troupe.
Despite the actors’ years of experience, “I find it beautiful to feel that there is still a feverishness that is setting in,” says the actress.
Express Metamorphoses
An important feature, except for Josée Deschênes, is that the troupe of actors must undergo a metamorphosis once the play has begun. Their express transformation takes place during the first scene.
“We go on stage as ourselves, we come out and then we change and put on makeup,” explains the interpreter of Josette.
Brigitte Lafleur must therefore put on a prosthesis on her stomach (since her character is pregnant), put on her wig, put on makeup and put in her false teeth.
Maude Larin-Kieran /QMI Agency
“It’s the easiest makeup. I just have to be ugly,” she says.
The troupe of the timeless play Santa Claus is a bastard will resume service on November 23 and will tour across the province in 2024-2025.
