Kukum at TNM, the stage as a space of reconciliation

The room Lawadaptation of Michel Jean’s bestselling novel, debuted Tuesday at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (TNM) in Montreal. Léane Labrèche-Dor plays Almanda Siméon, a young orphan from Lac-Saint-Jean who falls in love with Thomas Siméon, an Innu whose language and traditions she adopts.

It was Lorraine Pintal, former artistic and general director of the TNM, who approached Michel Jean with the suggestion of adapting Law for the theater. The author and journalist agreed on one condition: that the production be directed by an indigenous person. The name of multidisciplinary artist Émilie Monnet, of Anishinabe and French origin, quickly became obvious.

For me, Émilie embodies what it is to be indigenous today: yes, the past still lives in us, but we live in modern society. And she embodies this modernity, thanks to her creativity and her sense of the avant-gardeexplains Michel Jean.

Ultimately, the majority of the team behind the play is from the First Nations, from the cast to the music to the video design, signed by Caroline Monnet, sister of Émilie Monnet. The latter’s company, Onishka, co-produces the show.

Laure Morali, in the footsteps of Almanda Siméon

The theatrical adaptation of the novel is by Laure Morali, an author of French origin who has lived in Montreal for more than 20 years. She was able to benefit from the help of the poet Joséphine Bacon, who translated certain passages into Innu-aimun, while acting as guardian of Innu knowledgekeeping an eye on respect for tradition.

The two women know each other well: it was Laure Morali who led Joséphine Bacon to make her writing known by including one of her first poems in the anthology Aimititau! Let’s talk! (2008), which brings together literary correspondence between Quebec writers and First Nations writers.

The biggest challenge in adapting Law for the scene was to distill the memories of Almanda Siméon, narrated in a linear way in the novel, in a limited number of scenes where the characters come to life. In the novel, we hear them through Almanda’s story, but here we make them speak and exist in their own right.explains Laure Morali.

The latter perhaps had a head start on the task because of her own journey, which evokes that of the novel’s narrator. In 1996, as part of research on First Nations literature, I left on Route 138, and I went to Mingan where I met a family who took me in.she remembers. There was a friendship that was born and which lasted, which consolidated my ties with the Innu.

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The healing power of Law

Law can count on a cast mainly from the First Nations, with Sharon Fontaine-Ishpatao in the role of Christine, Emma Rankin in the roles of Jeanette and Claude, Jean Luc Kanapé in that of Malek Siméon and Étienne Thibeault in that of his son Thomas. Several passages of the play are in Innu-aimun, with French surtitles which are projected on screens.

Léane Labrèche-Dor, one of the two non-native actresses in the play with Marie-Eve Pelletier, shines in the main role, according to Laure Morali and Michel Jean, who both praise her little rebellious side. What is interesting with Léane is that with her raw, rocky and rebellious side, the more literary passages become powerfulsays Laure Morali.

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Seeing all these artists and craftsmen from different origins working together to bring his novel to life, Michel Jean admits to having had a great moment of emotion. When we did the first reading, I cried half the timehe explains.

I heard all these Aboriginal people, some of whom spoke the language and others who were trying to reclaim it, with Joséphine Bacon who was like the wise old woman next door, and I said to myself: it’s really extraordinary, there is five years, we never imagined it would be possible.

In the same spirit, Laure Morali believes that the piece is faithful to power healer from the novel by Michel Jean: It is the meeting and love between cultures. It’s more than reconciliation, it’s almost sacred.