Nothing is immune to a film crew, as the play proves silence is turned!, performed at the Gilles-Vigneault theater in Saint-Jérôme until mid-August. Spectacular twists, car chases, audience participation, insane costumes: all the comic sources are there.
The story of this French comedy is simple. A film crew occupied the stage of a theater to shoot a film sequence. The cheated husband has to interrupt the performance of his wife and her lover to kill him. But not everything goes as planned. The budget is tight, the technicians are missing, the stuntman is nowhere to be found and there is no person to play the lover. Luckily, there are viewers in the room who, unknowingly, are playing the film’s extras. We will also address several of them over the course of the evening to compensate for the lack of staff. Without giving anything away, gentlemen, avoid putting on a blue shirt.
Louis-Olivier Mauffette, Catherine Proulx-Lemay, Marc St-Martin and Roger Leger. Photo Eve B. Lavoie
The impact of this play lies above all in the troupe of actors, who do their best and are efficiently staged by the director Charles Dauphinais. Marc St-Martin, who plays the role of first assistant director, is brilliant as always. It is he who conducts the extras (the spectators in the room) throughout the evening. Without going to the theater, he keeps his burlesque role, distilling some imitations and remaining the central lynchpin of the plot.
Outstanding cast
Catherine Proulx-Lemay is a headstrong machinist who has learned to garner respect by shouting, while Michel Olivier Girard portrays a director madly in love with his dominant young actress, the juicy Catherine Paquin-Béchard.
Catherine Paquin-Béchard and Michel Olivier Girard in the play “Silence, let’s shoot!”. Photo Eve B. Lavoie
This production also marks the return of Claudine Mercier to the stage. We remember that the comedian came out of retirement to take part in this project. While we’ve always seen her alone on stage, Claudine Mercier proves she’s also comfortable in the midst of a troupe. She brings just the right amount of humor and grandeur to her role as a rich old actress. We tell ourselves she should have done theater a long time ago – we almost missed a very good actress.
Roger Léger and Claudine Mercier play opposite each other in the piece “Silence, on tourne!”. Photo Eve B. Lavoie
A young debut that grows larger as the evening progresses, Louis-Olivier Mauffette adds a grotesque side. Roger Léger and Catherine Bouliane complete the cast. The latter is particularly incredible in her role as an elf makeup artist with an incomprehensible dialect, but also disturbing at times.
Marc St-Martin and Louis Olivier Mauffette in the piece “Silence, on tourne!”. Photo Eve B. Lavoie
Successful adjustment
The Quebec adaptation of the play, signed by Emmanuel Reichenbach, is excellent. He was able to infuse very local or even international references with skill, even going so far as to offer very personalized gags to several actors. Michel Olivier Girard, for example, refers to a burger ad, while Catherine Proulx-Lemay corrects the grip of the revolver, as in “District 31”. Admittedly, the comical effects pick up on common stereotypes of the corrupt producer, the perpetual assistant who wants to make her first film, or the young actress who dreams of stardom, but it remains effective and funny.