Have a good trip | Reviving history through the circus

Dalhousie Station was at the heart of the history of Montreal and even Canada, before being transformed into a goods warehouse for decades. Today, the building located in Old Montreal serves as home to the Cirque Éloize troupe, which is dedicating a new show to it within its very walls.

Directed by Fernand Rainville (to whom we owe in particular the tribute show to Guy Lafleur Guy ! Guy ! Guy !), Have a good trip focuses on a vibrant but troubled period in our history.

The action takes place at the end of the 19th century.^e century, when the world was entering full modernity thanks to the arrival of electricity. It was at this time – in 1883 and 1884 to be precise – that the Dalhousie station was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway. And it was from here that the first transcontinental journey to Port Moody, near Vancouver, would depart in 1886.

This 4,700 km rail journey is intimately linked to the history of Canada, explains the director. “Prime Minister John A. Macdonald wanted to send a clear message to the United States that British Columbia belonged to Canada. By thus connecting Montreal and Port Moody, we are witnessing an official birth of the country. »

This historic journey (and the context in which it took place) is recounted in Have a good tripbut in a very circus-like way. Five acrobats will perform a variety of feats – think of the Cyr wheel, the suspended mast or contortion – to immerse the audience in this era when the world was in the midst of an industrial revolution.

Conceived as a walk-through, the bilingual show unfolds in two of Cirque Éloize’s rehearsal rooms. 360-degree projections are used to immerse the audience in the architecture and history of the building, but also to allow them to imagine what the crossing to Port Moody might have been like.

An original soundtrack, composed by Simon Carpentier, accompanies the spectators throughout this journey through time. “Simon was particularly inspired by the music of Calixa Lavallée, the one who wrote theThe Canada ! », explains Fernand Rainville.

A rich period to tell

“The historical context of this period is very rich, even if we talk little about it today,” believes the conductor of Have a good trip. The city of Montreal was led at the time by Mayor Honoré Beaugrand. We were experiencing a housing crisis, there was a smallpox epidemic. It was a period of great social transformations.

“It was also the time of the Métis rebellions in Manitoba. Right next to Dalhousie station, in Champ-de-Mars park, Tens of thousands of people demonstrated after the hanging of Louis Riel.

To recount these events, the director called on a poet from the Métis nation, Katherena Vermette. “Two of his poems will be read at the end of the show. A poem written by Louis Riel will also be slammed in the style of David Goudreault! If the facts mentioned in the show are true, we have given ourselves great artistic freedom to tell them, with a very current perspective. »

The director adds: “It’s a show that is effervescent, where points of view change quickly. The senses are very solicited. It’s a mixture of political satire, romantic drama and comedy. We talk about hockey, winter carnivals, the invention of the telegraph… All this with circus performances and theater.”

For the director, who has orchestrated intimate plays as well as shows in stadiums in Saudi Arabia or during the pre-match ceremonies of Super Bowl XLI in Miami, this invitation from Cirque Éloize, which arrived at the beginning of April, allows him to try out a new form: that of the ambulatory.

“This show is not presented in a traditional way. The audience will be invited to move around the two rooms. These are new codes that I wanted to explore. It’s a new way of living a theatrical experience, all in 60 very compact minutes.”

Have a good trip is presented from July 3 to August 12 in the Cirque Éloize studios. The performances are bilingual.

Check out the show page