Cultural authenticity off mark
01st October 2008
In the spirit of "reasonable accommodation," Montreal francophone theatres are attempting to reach out to "les autres" or the "others" in Quebec society, with varying degrees of success.
While Théâtre Jean Duceppe's Halpern et Johnson, a translation of a British play by Lionel Goldstein, starring Gérard Poirier and François Tassé, is well-worth seeing, Théâtre du Rideau Vert's La Vie devant soie, while strong on the acting front, loses points on direction, adaptation and cultural authenticity.
Especially the latter. My guest at Rideau Vert felt her Jewish heritage was being slighted because the doctor in the play - thanks to his beard and hat - appeared to be Hasidic.
First of all, she explained, there are no Hasidic doctors. And, if there were, they wouldn't be kissing a woman's hand, as Dr. Katz (Pascal Rollin) does in the play.
A Parisian Jewish doctor would have been far more sophisticated in his dress, manner and style, she insisted. Furthermore, I was told, a Jewish prayer spoken by the main character, Madame Rosa (Catherine Bégin), an aging Jewish madam who earns her living by caring for the children of other prostitutes, was inappropriate to the particular situation.
Which led me to the conclusion that director Louise Marleau (a renowned actress who has only recently turned to directing) had skimped on her research. This new adaptation, by Xavier Jaillard, of a work best known as a 1977 film starring Simone Signoret - although it began as a novel by Romain Gary - is pitched toward a Parisian sensibility rather than a North American idea of the politically correct.
While a North America Muslim spectator might be pleased with the sympathetic portrayal of the young boy Momo (Aliocha Schneider) - who has been raised by Madame Rosa according to parental wishes as a Muslim - the same person might not be happy with the negative portrayal of Youssef Kadir (Marco Ramirez), the deadbeat father of the boy. He shows up too late, with dubious intentions, to claim his child - only to reject him when Madame Rosa informs him, falsely, that the boy has been raised as a Jew.
For that matter, local transvestites might not be happy that the transvestite Madame Lola has been relegated to being an offstage, if sympathetic character.
The hazards of attempting intercultural theatre are many. (The most cringe-worthy moment I've witnessed recently was the treatment of native characters in the Puccini opera La Fanciulla del west at Place des Arts.) Ignorance is not to be excused, even if the intent is more noble than malicious. Still, there remains the question of the quality of the art presented.
In the case of La Vie devant soi, the performance of Catherine Bégin as Madame Rosa, is nothing short of of magnificent. The tender relationship between her Madame Rosa and Momo, the boy who could not have survived without her, is palpable. Schneider, born in France but raised in Quebec, is a talent to be watched. (He plays Jean in the recent Léa Pool film Ma mère est chez la coiffeur.)
This languidly paced production, however, lapses into schmaltz and melodrama, a directorial issue of tone.
What's contemporary about this venerable vehicle is that it takes places within a multicultural society of marginals who place more importance on their relationships than on their differences.
While this production may testify to the new openness of Quebec society, the fact that it was sold out before opening last week, with holdover dates announced, is more likely due to the star power of Bégin, who is now 69.
Source: The Gazette