When Dorothée Berryman started her career in her early twenties, she said to herself: “It's fun, I'll be able to do this all my life.” The actress was obviously right, because even at the age of 75, she continues to take on major projects and roles Meaning.
Dorothée Berryman describes herself as a woman addicted to news, everything that is happening in the world and the most important trends. She reads everything she can get her hands on and subscribes to various newspapers and magazines, including the New Yorker and the New York Times.
“I’m interested in everything. It brings me closer to great people who have thought about things. “It's nice to be in contact with these people,” explains the actress, who is part of the cast of the show “Aux grands mals les grands redes”, which will be shown in February at the Gesù in Montreal and in March at the Salle Albert-Rousseau in Quebec was shown.
The words of the greats
Accompanied by the actors Marc Béland (Nous, 5th), Naïla Louidort (5th, The Fault, The Emperor) and Martin-David Peters (Indéfendable), the great lady recreates important speeches from history on stage. During the press conference to which Le Journal was invited, Dorothée Berryman became Mother Teresa for a time to deliver the moving speech that the holy woman gave when accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
On stage she also plays the masterful French stateswoman, deported to Auschwitz at the age of 16, Simone Veil, takes up a speech by the American writer and philosopher of Romanian origin Elie Wiesel and transforms herself into the politician and organizer of the British suffragette movement, who helped women gain the right to vote in the United Kingdom, Emmeline Pankhurst.
“I observed everything I could to absorb the rhythm, tone and personality of each individual. These speeches all move me on different levels. Hitler's speech is bloodcurdling, Obama's speech clearly speaks of racism. We see that humanity needs time to change. All feminist speeches also touch me very much,” explains the woman who saw her mother fight and came from the generation in which women did not have the right to vote.
Poverty, the environment, fascism, women's rights and indifference are themes addressed in these great speeches and are still extremely relevant today.
Pierre-Paul Poulin / Le Journal de Montréal / Agence QMI
The privilege of being an artist
While she has been taking on beautiful roles for several years, this is unfortunately not the case with some friends and fellow actresses of her generation.
Dorothée Berryman plays an important character in the third season of the series The Flaw, becomes the mother of François (Émile Proulx-Cloutier) in Avant le Crash and plays a middle-aged woman with a very strong libido in the comedy series Sans Rendez – YOU. We also see her in the film Happy Days by Chloé Robichaud alongside actress Sophie Desmarais.
Does she feel privileged? “Yes, I am aware of the privilege of being an artist. Whenever something interesting happens, I get interested in the work. I like being in a team. An actress friend recently said in an interview: As we get older, we are offered fewer roles and we are more selective (laughs). “Seriously, some good actresses of my generation don't work, which is a shame,” she says.
The actress likes to talk about her childhood, where she had to dance and sing when visitors were at home, and about that teacher who allowed her to climb to the podium on Fridays and recite poems in front of the class. She also remembers her years of amateur theater.
“It was always there,” says the touched woman to whom Paul Hébert offered the role of Élise Lacroix in the play Pygmalion in 1971. What changed her life forever.
“I knew then that I wanted to do this. Paul gave me the confidence that gives me wings. He also told me, “Go to Montreal if you want to make this your career,” she whispers.
Actress and singer Dorothée Berryman also likes to continue her tradition of performing at the Upstairs jazz club a few days before Valentine's Day. Note to lovers: She will be giving two consecutive performances on the evening of February 10th.
Martin-David Peters, Dorothée Berryman, Naïla Louidort and Marc Béland for the piece Aux Grands Mals les Grands Discourses at the Gesù. Montreal, January 24, 2024. PIERRE-PAUL POULIN/LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL/AGENCY QMI Pierre-Paul Poulin / Le Journal de Montréal / Agence QMI
– The show Big words, big speeches will be presented daily until February 10th at Gesù in Montreal and on March 24th at the Salle Albert-Rousseau and on May 18th at the Théâtre des Patriotes in Sainte-Agathe.