Author and co-director of this show, Hilaire St-Laurent has much to be proud of: his adaptation of the legendary Troy War is epic entertainment that effectively engages the audience.
We rarely see a crowd as expressive as the one that filled the Octave-Crémazie room of the Grand Théâtre de Québec on Tuesday evening. Invited to express themselves throughout the performance, the spectators actively participated in the success of this dynamic proposition.
The talented actors, with a solid text in hand, are very gifted at interacting with the audience and eliciting the desired reactions.
We laugh a lot during this comedy which takes the form of a wrestling gala. And the language used – in which a sustained register of ancient times and a modern joual mix – has a lot to do with it! These lines in Alexandrian are as captivating as the songs that punctuate this musical show.
As with the dialogues, the sung numbers travel between several registers ranging from rap to ballads. At one point, the spectators even swung their light-up phones at the end of their arms to accompany Menelaus’ lament.
Hilaire St-Laurent knew how to create an intelligent and dynamic comedy by brilliantly using the codes of Greek tragedy as well as those of wrestling and rock opera. (ARACH’PICTURES – NAJIM CHAOUI)
The fights are also very entertaining. The actors fight on an arena without ropes placed on the stage between four stumps of Greek columns. Their game more than makes up for the fact that they are not professional wrestlers. And even if we know the outcome of the Troy War, these clashes have some exciting twists in store for us.
Lovers of Greek mythology as well as enthusiasts of Quebec politics are served with this 110-minute show which evokes the Night of the Long Knives.
Under the character of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, the public is invited to recognize René Lévesque. Through the repatriation of the National Legion belt (whose initials (LN) refer to Hélène) stolen by the villains of Trois-Rivières, it is the repatriation of the Constitution of Canada that we are talking about.
The excellent cast of Agamemnon in the ring: Frédéric Lavallée, Frédéric Desager, Joanie Guérin, Rébecca Vachon, Frédérick Tremblay, Maude Demers-Rivard, José Dufour, Catherine St-Martin, Hilaire St-Laurent, Pierre-Alexis St-Georges, Marie-Andrée Lemieux (alternating with Nicolas Centeno) and Pierre-Antoine Pellerin. (ARACH’PICTURES – NAJIM CHAOUI)
But you don’t need to have in-depth knowledge of this episode in Quebec history to appreciate this production by Créations Unuknu, which offers several nods to popular and Quebec culture.
Transposed to Trois-Rivières, this adaptation of the Troy War has more than one trick up its sleeve to challenge the public of la belle province.
Hilaire St-Laurent knew how to create an intelligent and dynamic comedy by brilliantly using the codes of Greek tragedy as well as those of wrestling and rock opera.
Agamemnon in the ring is presented a second time at the Grand Théâtre de Québec on May 29 at 7:30 p.m. The Carrefour international de théâtre de Québec continues until June 8.
