“I feel like a kid getting help for the first time in his life.” François Pérusse can’t wait to see the show The people’s 20 minutespresented on July 20 as part of Just for Laughs, which brings his famous skits to life through six actors, directed by Guillaume Lambert.
“All the actors are Pérusse fans. They bite into every word. “It’s really a physical feat,” says the director.
On Tuesday morning, François Pérusse and Guillaume Lambert gathered in a Just for Laughs conference room and presented to the media the main lines of what will be The 20 Minutes of the People.
The show will take place at the Carrefour du peuple, a small village on the Place des Arts promenade, which will include a colorful stage with an immersive sound system, a restaurant and snack bar chez Raymond, karaoke and a skidoo with a photo booth.
Amsterdam and Vegas
It was during the pandemic when Junior Girardeau, director of the French-language show at Just for Laughs, flashed the people’s 20 minutes. “We were looking for new ways to present outdoor shows with distance.”
Travels to Amsterdam with the famous red light cabins and Las Vegas with the Container Park inspired this creation about the universe of Pérusse.
“The idea of the box shows enthusiastic François,” says Junior. The name of Guillaume Lambert as director quickly emerged in the discussions.
“Guillaume knows my world very well,” says François. When we worked together on his two films, The Fortuitous Scenes and Niagara, we found that we got along really well. We never argued. Besides, Tom Hanks couldn’t. Either way, it’s not even good!”
In Les 20 Minutes du Peuple we find six actors: Sarah Anne Parent, Marie-Ève Morency, Audrey Guériguian, Joseph Martin, André-Luc Tessier and Nicolas Michon. Together they will represent more than thirty characters from Pérusse. Only the character of Bob Harley will return.
“They will lip-sync his sketches. […] I was looking for people who knew the universe of François. We also wanted to look for new faces to give Pérusse all the space,” explains Guillaume Lambert.
Pérusse recorded everything anew
The force began work about a month ago after receiving the 23-minute tape prepared for them by François Pérusse.
“The entire tape was recorded in an original way,” says Pérusse. I have completely redesigned the characters, even if they are already existing replicas. I realized that I didn’t have the same breath and shape as I had 33 years ago. But I succeeded!”
This Tuesday afternoon, the six actors had also planned to shoot a scene from the show in front of François Pérusse himself for the first time. “They are very nervous about meeting him sooner,” said Guillaume. “Me too!” adds Perusse.
The free outdoor show The people’s 20 minutes will be presented three times per evening, at 7pm, 8pm and 9.30pm, from July 20th to 29th on the Esplanade des Place des Arts. For info: hahaha.com.