Martin Drainville doesn’t have to dig too deep to play the patriarch who runs a gas station in space Gas bar bluesthe adaptation of the film by Louis Bélanger presented by Duceppe.
“I recognize myself in the role of François Brochu,” says the actor in a telephone interview. For example, single parents, because when I split up, I had my children full-time for a long time. »
“I know what it’s like to be a father and mother at the same time,” he continues. Feeling that guilt about whether we’ve done enough to make them happy. »
Father of two, 22 and 16, is touting the benefits of fatherhood.
“The acting profession makes us focus on ourselves, whereas when you have a kid it’s the other way around. When we’re centered in ourselves, our problems become larger than life, but when we’re distracted by another person’s life, it puts things into perspective. »
“Being a father is a really important task for me, more than I thought it would be,” he continues. Today I define myself much more as a father than as an actor. »
Strong musical presence
Whoever stars in Broue claims the Gaz Bar Blues track stays true to the 2003 film.
“It’s the same narrative framework, but director Edith Patenaude took a risk by having music throughout the show,” he says. The blues touches a sensitive chord that resonates. »
He specifies that this “beautiful and delicate” musical universe perfectly supports the theme related to nostalgia, to that mixture of joy and pain felt when the end of something important is approaching.
In this case, it’s this ailing father, concerned about the future of his children in a troubled Quebec neighborhood, who knows his business, threatened by competition, will not last much longer.
“The ‘Gaz-Bar’ represents Quebec well,” notes Martin Drainville. The last kilometers of this establishment are also the end of a community, of the village in the city. We’re seeing it in the region with business closures, it’s the disappearance of meeting places. »
For him, this gas station is like the tavern in Broue, where people are happy to find those they know without being able to say that they love each other.
“These two places are bygone worlds,” the actor notes.
Gas bar blues will be presented in Duceppe from January 18th to February 18th.