Show business isn’t all about glamor and glitz. There is also a lot of pressure to perform, high expectations, often an exaggerated need for love. The series Haute Démolition, which takes an uncompromising look at the world of Quebec humor, is a good example of this not always rosy look behind the scenes. We give you here a complete portrait of this new production of KOTV.
In Haute Démolition, Michel Charette plays a seasoned humorist who rose to fame in the late 1990s/early 2000s, former idol of the new guard of rising stars portrayed here by Étienne Galloy, Guillaume Gauthier and Erich Preach.
And his character, Sylvain Delorme, now feels unhealthy stress at the thought of putting his toe on the stage. In the first episode, Delorme defaults on his obligations, is stuck at home and falls victim to depression, much to the chagrin of his narcissistic manager Forand (Éric Bernier).
“He’s a guy who ‘fell’ at some point, who was afraid of the stage,” Michel Charette tells Showbizz.net.
“We all remember Michel Courtemanche’s event at Just for Laughs [où l’humoriste, en panique, avait quitté la scène en plein spectacle au festival, en 1997]; Recently Peter MacLeod said he would postpone his tour because he is scared and doesn’t want to get involved anymore; and other comedians have also retired because the scene scares them too much and they’d rather just write. It’s a bit like what happened with the character of Sylvain Delorme,” the actor continued.
“He’s still active in that environment, but a lot less. He has serious drug problems because he needs to calm down and calm down before going on stage. »
In Haute Démolition, at the invitation of Laurie (Léane Labrèche-Dor), the manager’s assistant Sylvain Delorme will help young Raphaël Massicotte aka Raph Massi (Étienne Galloy), a new star in the making working on his first one-man show . The artist will then supervise the recruit in his writing and staging.
“Sylvain Delorme was caught up in that stress, but not just in the world of humor. It’s also good for singers, actors, lawyers, doctors, you name it! Anyone can get down on one knee and not get up,” observed Michel Charette.
Does he find himself challenged by his character’s struggle as he prepares for his first solo show of his career?
Absolutely! he replied. “But I’m so well surrounded and have time ahead of me. I’ve got 30 years of experience too; I haven’t burned myself on 700 comedy shows. I’ve done 800 Ladies Night shows, but over.” 15 years old. I know my means, I know my abilities. I am well surrounded and have the luxury of time; My one man show has only been a year and a half. My first version I will write a year in advance. Me gonna have time to work on it like goldsmithing, get into the details, get it right, show it to people, ask them which endings have less more that i need to touch up ComedyHa! [son producteur, NDLR] gave me the means for my ambitions. So I have time. Time is a luxury in this job; In TV we don’t have time anymore, but in performing arts we still have time to work on our business. I appreciate it! »
High Demolition begins this Thursday, March 16 at 9 p.m. on Series Plus.
You can still see Michel Charette in Le bonheur on TVA. He gave us an assessment of the second season here. See when the comedy wraps up on TVA this spring.
The actor is also currently hatching several projects. He told us about it here.
High Demolition Press Screening