At 63, Dominique Pétin defends – finally! – his very first main role on stage. And it is a real baptism of fire that she is entitled to: she gives life to Nawal Marwan, heroine ofFires. “I feel like I'm diving into tragedy,” she breathes.
“I never would have believed that people would think of me for this role. At the age I am, I hope for everything and I expect nothing. So it’s a huge gift for me,” continues Dominique Pétin.
It is true that the actress does not have the same casting as those who lent their features to Nawal Marwan in the past; It was Isabelle Roy, Annick Bergeron and Andrée Lachapelle who shared the role during the creation of this piece, more than 20 years ago. Dominique Pétin alone assumes this responsibility, playing the heroine ofFires from adolescence to the sixties.
Car Fires relates the journey of this woman whose rights and dignity were violated, victim of rape and unspeakable violence. It is upon her death that her twins (here played by Neil Elias and Sabrina Bégin Tejeda) will learn the secrets kept by their mother in the office of a notary (Denis Bernard).
The pressure
Since its creation in 2003, not only has Wajdi Mouawad's work been presented on the international stage, but it also made the leap to the screen in 2010 under the leadership of Denis Villeneuve. This film adaptation was praised both in Quebec and abroad, Fires attracting American critics among others.
A journey which brings its share of pressure on the shoulders of Dominique Pétin.
“Seeing my face on posters across the city… there’s definitely something dizzying and intimidating about it. But I relieve myself of this pressure by remembering that the real star ofFiresthis is the text by Wajdi Mouawad. There are no special effects, no bling…nothing superfluous in the show. The story is so strong that it doesn’t need that,” says the actress.
First indigenous woman
She also becomes the very first indigenous woman – Dominique Pétin was born to a Huron-Wendat mother and a father of French origins – to lend her features to the character of Nawal Marwan.
“The mere fact of finding myself on stage in Fires sends a strong message,” she says.
Because the war – and its atrocities – presented on the stage has neither flag nor homeland. A deliberate vagueness surrounds the origins of Nawal Marwan; his native homeland is never named. And Dominique Pétin believes that his presence alone reinforces the universal character of the work.
“The directors Elkahna and Ines Talbi wanted to remove this idea that war is always far from us. Nawal is all the women who suffered, who were used as a shield against violence. It’s our story as much as that of women who live abroad,” she explains.
The room Fires is presented at the Théâtre Duceppe in Montreal until November 30. A tour will then take her, among others, to the stage of the Salle Albert-Rousseau in Quebec City on March 2.
Our review:
One word to describe Dominique Pétin in the play Fires? Masterful. The actress manages to further enhance Wajdi Mouawad's words, which are already formidable and powerful in themselves. Supported by solid comrades in arms in Denis Bernard, Neil Elias and Sabrina Bégin Tejeda, she is by turns rebellious and vulnerable, always with incredible accuracy. In short, a show that feels like a punch in the stomach and that always stays with us, long after leaving the theater.
