If the comparison used above is too graphic for you, you will not come out of the hilarious comedy directed by Philippe Soldevila unscathed. This is based on the real misadventures that the Quebec theater troupe experienced in 2019. And the actors have – unfortunately for the faint of heart – images to prove it.
We are both disgusted and fascinated by this epic story so well told by Éva Daigle, Savina Figueras, Paul Fruteau de Laclos, Érika Gagnon and Nicolas Létourneau.
With and without a shrimp costume, Paul Fruteau de Laclos makes us laugh. (Frédéric Matte/Le Soleil)
There is something very warm in the playing of these experienced artists. We really have the impression that they are inviting us into their home, behind the scenes.
In addition to playing their own role, the performers very talentedly embody the other actors who intervened in their health drama. In particular, we meet the tenants and the board of directors of the building in which their rehearsal space is located.
Practically without costume, the actors bring to life these characters who are as comical as they are endearing. They sometimes change roles in the same conversation, so very quickly, but always convincingly.
Divided into platforms of different heights, the scene allows us to evoke the apartments of each tenant. That of old lesbians who don't care about passing on a condemned building to their grandchildren; that of the couple who hesitates to have children in this nauseating building; etc.
Don't let the sobriety of this piece written by Joan Yago put you off, the magic emanates from the actors! (Frédéric Matte/Le Soleil)
As if that wasn't enough, a second story – as comical as the first! – plays in parallel and invites us to see the first as a metaphor for inaction in the face of climate change, but without making anyone feel guilty.
In this second plot, spectators attend an absurd and surreal conference on “climate affirmatism” and then follow one of its participants.
Like her counterparts, this journalist wants to lift the veil on the climate conspiracy which is creating anxiety among young people and radicalizing them. In short, she doesn't believe in climate change.
Even if this second story is fictional, several real events and people are mentioned there such as COP25, which took place in Madrid in December 2019, and the famous climate activist Greta Thunberg, who will be elected personality of the year by the Time that same year.
Éva Daigle and Érika Gagnon are as funny as they are convincing in their many roles. We like how this troupe does not distribute roles based on the gender of the performers. (Frédéric Matte/Le Soleil)
The day everything went wrong is a smart comedy with jokes and plumbing issues that run deeper than they initially appear.
Above all, don't let yourself be taken aback by the sobriety of the coating of this piece written by Joan Yago, the magic emanates from the actors who, like magicians, make the 110 minutes of this show disappear in the blink of an eye.
Titre: The day everything went wrong
Auteur: John Yago
Direction and translation: Philippe Soldevila
Distribution: Éva Daigle, Savina Figueras, Paul Fruteau de Laclos, Érika Gagnon, Nicolas Létourneau
Location and dates: at Periscope until November 9, 2024
