Martin Drainville has a blast in the theatrical adaptation of the film Gas bar blues. He already knows that the end of this adventure will be difficult.
• Also read: Gaz Bar Blues: place for melancholy
“When it’s over we’re going to yell at the whole gang and miss the show. We know it will happen. The gang, the lyrics, the show and its reception, it’s all there and that’s pretty rare,” he said in an interview.
Martin Drainville didn’t hesitate when Édith Patenaude, who directed the production, approached him for the role of François Brochu, “the boss” of a small petrol station in Limoilou.
“I agreed immediately. I’m a father of two boys and I know what it’s like to wonder if we’re doing the right things. François is a little overwhelmed by modernity and by children who don’t want to follow in his footsteps,” he said.
On the screen
Gaz Bar Blues, a film directed by Louis Bélanger and adapted for the stage by David Laurin, runs at La Bordée until March 25.
This “gaz bar”, which existed under the Champlain banner on rue Eugène-Lamontagne in Limoilou, is going through difficult times with the introduction of self-service stations.
François Brochu knows that the end of his garage is near.
“These shops were meeting places, where there was a neighborhood life with that side of the small quiet life, where not much is happening but at the same time full of business. What we see less and less. Gaz Bar Blues is a show that hits the nerve of the world. We laugh, we cry and we are touched,” he noted.
The actor, who has appeared on the series L’Échappée and on old Scoop covers, uses the character of Tintin to recognize those taciturn, hard-working men who do their best and who want their children to have a better one have fate than them.
“François Brochu is a devoted father and with the clumsiness that goes with it. He is a man who expresses himself more through gestures. A man who is doing his best,” he explained.
Be true
Martin Drainville slips into the skin of a character interpreted by Serge Thériault in the cinema.
“Serge was exceptional in this film and in a role he hadn’t played often. I was told that Louis Bélanger wanted someone related to the comedy for the theatrical adaptation. I felt from the start that this project was legitimate. I didn’t put too much thought into the predicate. The film and the play coexist very well,” he said.
On stage there is a musical group composed of actors who create the soundtrack of this work.
“The presence of a band that is not very clean is an added value. What the lyrics don’t say, the band says. It becomes a character,” he said.
Martin Drainville has released his schedule in anticipation of performances in Montreal, Quebec City and for the tour, which will continue through May.
“I wanted to take advantage of that. Gaz Bar Blues is one of my best projects. It’s in my top 5 for luck. I’m really spoiled,” launched the one who will be back in the play Broue in fall 2024.
After notable performances in the Fragile series and in the play Les Hardings, audiences discover a more dramatic Martin Drainville.
“The text and the score are the first element. You can’t be better than the sheet of paper. I am happy when these things happen. Drama or comedy, there must be truth. You have to be real, dig in and get wet,” he said.