The Critics’ Awards, which have rewarded the best theatrical productions of the year in Quebec since 1985, were presented Monday at the L’Illusion puppet theater in Montreal.
This hill is never truly silentwritten and directed by Gabriel Charlebois-Plante, was crowned best show. A reinvention of the ancient myth of Sisyphus, this play was produced by Création dans la salle, presented at La Chapelle Scènes contemporains last spring and revived at the Prospero theater this fall.
“This show captures with disturbing, even overwhelming, acuity the feelings of oppression, of inadequacy, of paralyzing helplessness, of inexorable captivity within a system with no escape which manages to make the individual, part of the less, his own executioner,” declared the jury, made up of Montreal members of the Quebec Theater Critics Association (AQCT), in a press release. The jury also praised the excellence of the scenography, lighting design and performance of the performers.
This is the first time that ten prizes have been awarded. The prize for the best original text went to Homicideby Pascal Brullemans. Inspired by the Luka Rocco Magnotta affair, it explores the psychology of a megalomaniacal boy who commits a sordid murder. Dany Boudreault, who played the character, also won the prize for best male performance. The members of the AQCT highlighted the actor’s ability to translate, in his monologue, “countless nuances of emotions and psychological states, ranging from candor to perversion, from hope to cruelty.”
In the category of best female performance, the winner is Violette Chauveau, for her interpretation of the late director André Brassard at the end of his life, in The last tape. The monologue written and directed by Olivier Choinière was broadcast at the Quat’Sous theater.
The title of best show for young audiences went to Hegemonyby Maxime Mompérousse, a Trembler Davant production. The jury also chose L.U.C.A.by Grégory Carnoli and Hervé Guerrisi, a production of l’Ancre broadcast by the Phénoména Festival and La Chapelle Scènes contemporains, as best show created outside Quebec.
Virginie Brunelle and Jean-Simon Traversy are the winners of best direction for the theatrical adaptation of the novel Royal, by Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard, at the Duceppe theater. Geneviève Lizotte was honored for her design of the decor ofHome affairsby Sophie Cadieux, Mélanie Demers and Frannie Holder, which was presented at Espace Go.
Two shows also won special prizes. First of all, it concerns the room Tree, a whole worldwhich is aimed directly at young people of neurodiversity. “In this atmosphere that is both cozy and stimulating, the performers adapt to the particularities of each spectator – whether he or she lives with an autism spectrum disorder or an intellectual disability – with sensitivity and quality of incomparable presence, thus allowing them to benefit from the many benefits of theatrical art,” noted the jury.
The AQCT also highlighted the “ambitious 12-hour epic” presented in seven Montreal theaters, entitled The crossing of the century. It highlighted the journey of three notable characters from the work of Michel Tremblay, in a production by Alice Ronfard, in collaboration with André Brassard.
The passion of critics
Sophie Pouliot, president of the AQCT since 2019, was delighted with the generous welcome from the L’Illusion theater. “It has just been reborn after being destroyed and rebuilt. It’s a breath of optimism in these times,” reported the woman who also collaborates with Duty.
The evening is entirely financed by the annual contributions of the thirty members of his organization, and all those who contribute to his organization do so on a voluntary basis, underlined M.me Pouliot. “This event serves as a reminder that, if we do the job of critic, if we devote so many hours, energy and heart to it, it is because we fundamentally love theater,” said the organizer. .
Since the disappearance of the Soirée des Masques in 2008, the Critics’ Awards have been the only event devoted entirely to the influence of Quebec theater through an awards ceremony. Prizes were also awarded in Quebec on November 18.
