Symphorion | Fun Nostalgia ★★★½

Luck Boulanger
Pres

Other times, other customs. So why produce? Symphorion In theaters in 2022? For the pleasure of nostalgia, a time when laughter was synonymous with carelessness. You can laugh with anyone and anything. The saying goes that if you can’t laugh, you’re not worth much.

This is why it returns Symphorion In 2022, planned by Pierre Huet and Louis Saïa, “According to the characters, imagination and scenes of Marcel Gamache”, it was a very successful attempt. Of course, the production, presented at the Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne before a tour in Quebec, was aimed at a target audience… and a very consistent one at that.

As the curtain rises, the audience is delighted to discover Jean Bard’s outfit. The designer has recreated the pension from the TV series with a wooden staircase, front door in the center, stained glass windows etc. The costumes and props (from Steinberg’s bag to the wall-mounted telephone) were in the early 1980s, when the television series ended.

The characters are the same as the setting: the nice receptionist father of 14, Symborion, with his little moustache; his foolish brother Ephrem, with his many questions and his failed jokes; Madame Sylvain, her curves and miserliness; Berthe L’Espérance, the spinster, is as immediately enthusiastic as her pessimism. Nothing has changed!

So the success of the company is based on the artist’s ability to preserve colorful characters always with the memory of famous actors. The Gilles Latulippe, Juliette Hood, Jean-Louis Millet, Denis Drouin… But here’s the achievement, most of them manage to live up to their roles.

François Senier is stunning as a symphony! Martin Héroux is incredibly similar to Efrem, Fernand Gugnac. The scene where both the brothers go jogging is unforgettable!

In top form, Nathalie Mallet, Michel Labonte and Anne-Marie Binet deliver memorable Party of alcoholic women. Stephen Cote accurately covers four secondary characters, including a libidinous priest. On the other hand, the talented Patrice Coquero, who plays the inexplicable Oscar Bellemare, appeared nervous and hesitant to us on the evening of the media screening.

The play, staged somewhat tenderly by Pierre Séguin and Saïa, is somewhere between a tribute and a new proposal. If you want to laugh heartily, this is a production to watch.

Symphorion

Based on the work of Marcel Kamachi

Old Terrebonne TheatreUntil August 14, then tour Quebec from September 10

★★★½