Word extraordinary sums up the piece best The dreamer in his bathat the TNM, because it is proving to be as exceptional as it is successful.
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Written and directed by Hugo Bélanger, this proposal is sure to appeal to a wide audience. It is an ode to fantasy, beautifully blending reality and fiction.
This work is thus a homage to the great forgotten precursors of the art world of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Viewers will thus discover Georges Méliès, the pioneer of cinema, the father of modern magic, Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, and one of the outstanding comic artists, Winsor McCay. With the sculptor Elsa von Freytag and others, women are not neglected.
These historical figures are presented in whimsical and imaginative ways, both in their actions and in the images that accompany their words. Most notably, breathtaking projections of drawings bring this phantasmagorical tale to life, while magicians and pantomimes breathe sweet madness into it.
A gifted storyteller
The fate of these on-stage personalities is told by a dreamy cartoonist who has taken refuge in his bathroom since the departure of his wife and muse Ondine (Cynthia Wu-Maheux). Masterfully embodied by Normand D’Amour, this selfish and mythomaniac, yet gifted with unlimited creativity, confronts his son (Renaud Lacelle-Bourdon), who is fed up with seeing him escaping his commitments.
In his burlesque explanations, the narrative narrator travels with one of his cartoon characters, a childlike version of himself and his son, skilfully interpreted by Sébastien René.
About half of the show offers room for wonder without going into too much emotion or a plot that makes a lot of sense. This part where the father claims to have been involved with these fabulous unknown artists is entertaining.
However, this suggestion skillfully dives back into the present, where father and son settle their scores. This more dramatic and serious part perfectly sums up the theme of creativity and ends with a touching ending.
Great artists don’t want to be forgotten, we can hear in this room. Well, Hugo Bélanger can rest easy because his creation shouldn’t be.
♦ The dreamer in his bath can be seen on TNM until May 27th.
The dreamer in his bathtub ★★★★1⁄2
- Directed by Hugo Belanger
- With Normand D’Amour, Cynthia Wu-Maheux and Renaud Lacelle-Bourdon