Off to a funny start

Molière is back in St. Boniface.

For the opening production of her programming tenure at Théâtre Cercle Molière, artistic director Marie-Ève Fontaine knew that she wanted to highlight the eternal work of her company’s namesake.

She wanted to remind audiences whose cercle they were joining each season on Provencher Boulevard.

“It’s really important to me that our audience has a working knowledge of theatrical references,” says Fontaine, who helmed the company last year during its landmark centennial season.

“Part of my vision has that education aspect woven into it. For me, going to school and discovering the big names in theatre allowed me to be fascinated by the richness. I became a theatre nerd.”

With Les fourberies de Scapin — a hijinks-filled comedy running tonight until Oct. 24 at Théâtre Cercle Molière — Fontaine invites Winnipeg theatregoers to join the ranks.

“From the moment I knew I was coming into this job, I knew this would be the opener of the very first season I programmed,” says Fontaine, who performed in the farce in 2019 for Fâcheux Théâtre in Hull, Que.

With Fâcheux, artistic director Sylvain Sabatié found success writing annual adaptations of Molière targeted at a contemporary audience. Even without a modern twist, Les fourberies de Scapin felt suited to the 21st century, says Fontaine, who will direct Sabatié’s reworking, which is set on a zany miniature golf course.

“It’s about the disparity between rich and poor, with the poor taking their revenge. There’s no better time than now — when multi-billionaires are making it so groceries are expensive and housing is hard to come by — to perform it,” she says.

The hunger from performers to take on the work was clear: when auditions were held in April, nearly 40 people signed up, with only five roles up for grabs.

“It clearly struck a chord with the francophone community to have a chance to take on a work by Molière,” says Fontaine.

For the role of Léandre — a spoilson who doesn’t want to go into the family business, preferring to pursue a career in theatre — Fontaine cast Jack Maier, Théâtre Cercle Molière’s longtime transliterator who made his onstage debut last season in the company’s bio of local legend Pauline Boutal.

Léandre’s wishes to live a simple life with his girlfriend Zerbinette (Axelle Oulé) go against his father Geronte (Yvan Lécuyer), an arch-capitalist who looks first to the bottom line. So when he needs $5,000 to cover his tuition to the University of Winnipeg’s stage acting program, the aspiring performer gets in touch with the titular character.

Played by Ava Darrach-Gagnon in her professional French language debut, Scapin is a playful scamp who deploys a defiant brand of bait-and-switch deceit in order to dupe the wealthy magnate.

Fontaine was “astounded” by Darrach-Gagnon’s audition, which began with the actor tossing her jacket to the floor and assuming a lunge position, already in character as a wildcard with chaotic tendencies.

“I knew I needed someone extra dynamic, generous and really sharp,” the director says.

“Scapin loves to push her master’s buttons. It’s what makes her job tolerable — making him angry. She gets stimulated from danger and from a challenge. It’s always a good time if it means playing a trick on her boss.”

Joining forces with the golf course’s groundskeeper (Louise Deniset), the clownish Scapin continually makes a fool of Geronte, while also building solidarity with the golf course’s underclass.

A creative choice by Fontaine and set designer Sol Desharnais, the golf course setting tees up intriguing conversation about greenery and cash, with each of the holes on set marked by a Manitoban landmark: the Cathedral in St. Boniface, the Esplanade Riel, the Narcisse snake pits and a field of bison.

“The script doesn’t impose a location for the story to be happening,” the director says. “The usual thing would be a CEO’s house, but we thought he could do his business on the golf course, and what could make him even more ridiculous as a CEO would be if he was very serious about mini golf.”

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca

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