While her character Marie-Anne Desjardins is experiencing a tumultuous start to the season in Indefensibleon TVA, her interpreter, Anne-Élisabeth Bossé, is having a rather nice return to the stage in the play People, places, thingspresented at Duceppe. The young forty-something opens the door to her world and tells us about her projects on television, in the theater and in the cinema.
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This third season ofIndefensible begins hard for Marie-Anne Desjardins who, after having experienced her share of trials in the past, is now embracing a new career as a Crown prosecutor. A difficult choice that will pit her against Léo Macdonald (Sébastien Delorme) and which will put an end to their friendship. “After going to recharge her batteries in Costa Rica, Marie-Anne realized that she had lost faith in her job as a criminal lawyer. However, she will quickly realize that the job of prosecutor is not easier to practice. The first cause she defends confronts her with Léo. This situation will ensure that nothing will go well between them.” In addition, the lawyer will be deeply shaken by the deaths of her former work colleagues, Inès Saïd (Nour Belkhiria) and Frédéric Legrand (Martin-David Peters), who died suddenly in the explosion of Me Legrand’s vehicle. “Marie-Anne will never be the same after this tragedy. “She will be deeply affected by their deaths,” confides Anne-Élisabeth Bossé.
Less present than before
The actress also does not hide the fact that Marie-Anne will be less present in this third season ofIndefensible. “The fact that she is no longer part of the Lapointe-Macdonald cabinet will mean that she will no longer be at the centre of the action. For my part, I had already been away for several weeks last year, to go and shoot the film Our sisters-in-law. This year I am not currently filming because I am rehearsing for the play People, places, thingswhich will be presented from September 12 to October 12, at Duceppe.”
Back to the theater
Anne-Élisabeth Bossé is also delighted to be returning to the theatre after a five-year absence. “Everything is going really well. I didn’t think I would enjoy the idea of going back on stage so much. I had a dream summer rehearsing with the actors of this play, in which Maude Guérin also plays. It is a play by the English author Duncan Macmillan, which was successful 10 years ago in England, and which was staged again there last spring.”
A memorable meeting
The artist can also boast of having met Duncan Macmillan herself last April, during a short stay in London. “I had tried my luck by writing to him on his Instagram account before leaving, telling him that I was going to play in the adaptation of his play in Quebec. Against all expectations, he invited me to come meet him and attend a repeat performance of his play at the National Theatre in London. I then had the chance to have dinner with him. I was then able to ask him lots of questions. Following this meeting, I feel invested with a mission, which consists of honouring his work.” Note that the play People, places, things will also be presented at the Théâtre Le Trident, in Quebec, from January 15 to February 8, 2025.
Spotlight on Addiction
On stage, Anne-Élisabeth plays the character of Emma, a drug-addicted actress who doesn’t want to admit that she has a substance abuse problem. “All I can say is that Emma will have to face her demons. This is a play that takes a comprehensive look at people who suffer from addictions. Everyone knows someone who has a substance abuse problem, whether it’s drugs or alcohol. With this play, the author doesn’t make addicts feel ashamed or make the general population feel like trivializing addiction. It’s really a play with a great social responsibility, which is for everyone. It’s funny, intelligent and sad at the same time. I think it’s really good and I’m very happy to play in it.”
In Emma’s shoes
It was in order to bring her character Emma to life in Les gens, les lieux, les choses that Anne-Élisabeth Bossé chose to change her look. “To play Emma, I wanted to no longer look like myself. So I decided to dye my hair blonde. I thought this intense blonde went well with the personality of this super confident woman, who experiences everything very intensely. For now, I don’t know if I’ll stay blonde after the performances of this play. We’ll see.”
A phenomenal success
Furthermore, Anne-Élisabeth Bossé, who plays the legendary character of Rose Ouimet in Our sisters-in-lawsays she is extremely happy to see the resounding success of this film directed by René Richard Cyr, which exceeded $3 million in box office receipts in August. It should be noted that the feature film also recently attracted praise from the French public during its presentation on August 30 at the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival. “René Richard, Véronic DiCaire and Geneviève Schmidt were there to keep us informed of what was happening. For my part, I loved everything about this production. I am really lucky to have been able to play in this film.”
In two upcoming films
The actress will also be back on the big screen in 2025. First in the film Liar by Émile Gaudreault, where she will reprise her role as Virginie, which she played in the film Liarreleased in 2019. “This project is riding on the momentum of the first film, which was a box-office success. As an actress, it was a great pleasure to play a girl whose every lie comes true. It was like playing several characters in one. In addition, for this film, I really enjoyed giving the cue to Antoine Bertrand, who plays Phil, Virginie’s boyfriend.” In addition, in February 2025, Anne-Élisabeth Bossé will be in the film Vile and miserablewhich will transpose the surrealist universe of the comic book artist Samuel Cantin to the cinema. “It will be a completely crazy film, in which I will play a horned demon, dressed in a red one-piece. It is a fantastic comedy, at the same time very funny, colorful and niche, in which Fabien Cloutier and Pier-Luc Funk also participate.”
An involvement that is dear to him
On a personal level, Anne-Élisabeth Bossé has been the spokesperson for the Fédération québécoise des Sociétés Alzheimer since 2022. She decided to get involved with the organization after her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. “I continue to be involved with them because it’s a cause that is close to my heart. I want to raise awareness about what people with Alzheimer’s and those around them go through. My father, for his part, is not getting better. The disease is progressing, and it’s not easy,” she says. To learn more about the organization, we invite you to visit alzheimer.ca.
Don’t miss out IndefensibleMonday to Thursday 7 p.m., at VAT. Also, please note that the part People, places, things will be presented from September 12 to October 12 at Duceppe. For more information, visit duceppe.com.
