“We tried to carve out characters from the songs and bring them to life on stage,” explains director Sébastien Soldevila, co-founder of the Les 7 Fingers de la Main collective.
At the beginning of the 2000s, Karl Tremblay already imagined a kind of musical comedy of a new genre, which would be based on the characters from the songs of “Cowboys Fringants”.
“It was something, we told ourselves, that would be trashier than what was being done at the time with musical comedies like Notre-Dame-de-Paris,” says Cowboy’s Jean-François Pauzé, to whom we owe the majority of the group’s songs.
Twenty years later, this idea, which artists had thought dead, resurfaced thanks to the interest of the Les 7 Fingers de la Main collective.
For “Pub Royal,” the production company brought together seven actors-singers, seven dancers and six circus performers.
The story begins with the misadventures of Jonathan Doyer, an insurance broker who lives a quiet life in the suburbs. One day his car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, or almost. Jonathan sees a bar in the distance and decides to go there. At the Pub Royal he meets several people who will change his life in “epic” ways.
“Pub Royal is a closed session that takes place in a place with slightly crazy people, so it needed circus performers to show that slightly crazy side,” claims Sébastien Soldevila, who also signed the booklet for this anti-musical comedy.
“Quebec is one of the most circus-rich regions in the world,” he adds.
This country opera is anchored in the universe of a favorite Quebec group – which reaffirmed its status by winning the Félix for Group of the Year again at the last ADISQ gala – and promises to be a great calling card for the province. Furthermore, Mr. Soldevila has the ambition to export this production to French-speaking Europe.
Loulou Lapierre and the others
The director explains that he worked backwards when creating “Pub Royal,” meaning that the songs existed before the show’s narrative.
He was obviously spoiled for choice when it came to selecting the songs and characters that would be the focus of this 90-minute intermission production.
The discussions between the Cowboys and the production team were heated. In the end they used both strong and more anecdotal characters.
The audience will especially find Loulou Lapierre, that ordinary little mother from Joyeux Calvaire, but also Yve and Norman, who we meet in Shooters.
Characters and songs were also created specifically for Pub Royal.
“I thought it was important to bring something new. “I think that the new songs made it possible to tie together certain threads that stood out,” mentions the singer-songwriter, who, however, was not convinced about this project at the beginning of the adventure.
These cowboys were finally convinced of the “corrosive” side of this production.
Among the five new pieces he composed, one is dedicated to Loulou Lapierre, reveals the guitarist and co-founder of the group.
The songs allow us to learn a little more about the characters, their past, their vision of life, their suffering or even see how their situation has developed since their first appearance in the Cowboys universe.
“The songs are used effectively. There are dialogues like in the theater behind which instrumental music plays, and there is a fourth wall that we often break when we address the audience,” reports Jean-François Pauzé.
“There’s a reason the audience is there,” the director adds.
Furthermore, this promises a show full of twists and turns with poignant moments.
“There are three or four unexpected finals. “Sometimes we think it’s over, but no, ultimately there’s something else we didn’t see coming,” enthuse the Cowboys.
True to the group’s DNA, Pub Royal will address deep, human and contemporary themes with a style that is both realistic and eccentric.
No cowboys on stage
The Dashing Cowboys will not be on stage. The music will be recorded and it will be the actors-singers who will learn the lyrics, usually performed by Karl Tremblay.
“It was a bit worrying at first. “Karl’s voice is so symbolic,” argues Jean-François Pauzé.
Kevin Houle – who plays the role of Siriso, one of the main characters – confided in the author that his dense lyrics, which have to be sung at a fairly fast pace, were not easy to get used to.
“Just putting the songs into their mouths so that they sound natural was a bit difficult for them at first,” reports the singer-songwriter.
Jean-François Pauzé is not the only cowboy involved in the Pub Royal. Marie-Annick Lépine and Jérôme Dupras took over the organization.
In addition to the five new songs, the group also recorded instrumental versions of their songs selected for this project. The latter will appear on an album expected for 2024.
“A few other songs were added to make a full album because we are not the type to release EPs,” says the guitarist.
All members of the group had the opportunity to attend the rehearsals, except Karl Tremblay. The singer, who battled prostate cancer, sadly passed away on Wednesday, November 15, a few days after this interview.
Pub Royal will be presented November 22-26 at the Grand Théâtre de Québec and then in Montreal in December and January. This production will then visit France before being presented in Trois-Rivières in May and June 2024 and in Sherbrooke in October of the same year.