Worn by a sublime Pascale Montpetit, the piece Physician presents a fascinating story enriched with social issues very relevant to Duceppe.
After a seven-year absence, the actress is back on stage and shines in the role of Dr. Wolff, the founder of a renowned medical institution. This character causes controversy by preventing a priest from entering the room where a young girl is dying after a botched abortion. This gesture caused a scandal that several groups with completely different goals exploited to impose their ideologies and demand his resignation.
Issues related to religion, racism, feminism, gender, social classes, public discourse and medical ethics are therefore intertwined in this moral tension in which the shock of one idea does not wait for the other.
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Obviously, these positions are sometimes caricatures, but this clairvoyant work by Briton Robert Icke shows how the different viewpoints conveyed are interpreted through the prism of each person’s identity.
The cast of this production is solid. Pascale Montpetit makes a brilliant transition from relentlessness to vulnerability, especially at the end of the show, which ends with great sensitivity.
Yanic Truesdale stands out as the rival doctor at the center of this story. Alexandre Bergeron, Ariel Ifergan, Sharon James, Harry Standjofski and Elkahna Talbi are also excellent in supporting roles.
Just like Fanny Britt’s translation, Marie-Ève Milot’s direction is impeccable. The scenography is wonderfully simple, especially with those large curtains reminiscent of the curtains in hospitals used to protect patient privacy.
In short, it is an intelligent proposal with multiple levels of content, both in terms of the ideas discussed and the personal challenges that the protagonists have to overcome. Well acted and edited, it offers a moment of theater that should be unanimous and certainly spark lively discussion.
Physician is presented at Duceppe until November 18th.
Physician ★★★1⁄2
Director: Marie-Ève Milot
Starring Pascale Montpetit, Yanic Truesdale, Alexandre Bergeron, Ariel Ifergan, Sharon James, Harry Standjofski and Elkahna Talbi.