Go off the beaten track

DAY

Any good traveler will tell you, nothing better than an adventure off the beaten track. This is what the Bocal Project offers with Showtime at Duceppe.

This collective made up of Raphaëlle Lalande, Simon Lacroix and Sonia Cordeau have put together a show in their image: abundant, creative and with a humor as greasy as bacon.

In addition to having written and directed it, the trio shares the boards with Éric Bernier, Jean-Marc Dalphond, Natacha Filiatrault, Dominique Leduc, Étienne Lou, Alexia Martel and Olivier Rousseau. All these actors seem to have fun in this cheeky work.

The three creators chose to feature themselves to entertain. In this story, their mission is to put on a play at Duceppe's in order to entertain the public.

Making fun of the theater

In search of a common thread, but stopping at nothing to find it, the three acolytes therefore embark on different theatrical forms to try to achieve their ends. American, experimental and documentary theatre, as well as musical comedy and improvisation are particularly the subject of heartfelt parodies.

This show is full of detours and twists, which are not always coherent, sometimes forced, but which are part of the DNA of this troupe and this proposal which wants to be in a way anti-theatre and anti-talk.

The actors make fun of theatrical codes and the propensity of this art to want to reflect and shake certain foundations of society. The goal is to elicit laughter for laughter's sake. They often succeed brilliantly, even if, by dint of trying too much, the exercise falls flat at times. But it is the well assumed risk of such a proposal that bets a lot on absurdity.

Dynamic proposal

The rhythm of the piece is supported, despite some empty passages where we would like to move on. Impossible to really predict, the plot surprises many times, which helps to keep the attention. The actors transmit a contagious energy throughout the evening.

You don't really come out impressed by this show, whose humor is far from subtle, but if entertaining was the objective, then mission accomplished.

Showtime is presented until December 17 at Duceppe.

< p>► Showtime ★★★1⁄2

► A piece by the Projet Bocal collective

< p>With Éric Bernier, Sonia Cordeau, Jean-Marc Dalphond, Natacha Filiatrault, Simon Lacroix, Raphaëlle Lalande, Dominique Leduc, Étienne Lou, Alexia Martel, Olivier Rousseau