Pif-Luisant: Gabriel Sabourin's tribute to Edmond Rostand

UPDATE DAY

Fascinated by Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac who made him famous, the French writer Edmond Rostand in turn inspired Gabriel Sabourin more than a century later.

In the play entitled Pif-Luisant, presented at the Théâtre du Rideau Vert, the Quebec playwright and actor pays tribute to this glorified author at the age of 29 for his leader -d'oeuvre performed for the first time in 1897.

« He touched genius with Cyrano de Bergerac, argues Gabriel Sabourin in a telephone interview. I admire his verses. His alexandrines were different from those of Molière and Corneille. Rostand had a more modern approach. I fell in love with his work, which I read as a student at the National Theater School. »

A story of the nose

The title of the piece refers to the nickname given to Rostand when he was young, because he had a small bump on his nose. The Quebecer has been working for a dozen years on this show which features a Rostand performing on Cyrano. He imagined the Frenchman finding himself in a love triangle by writing letters full of tenderness for a gardener in love with a servant.

“It is as if Rostand was living the events that inspired, he says. Writing secret letters for others really happened to him. It was great to have used that to bring Cyrano's story to life. 

Gabriel Sabourin points out that the love verses of Cyrano de Bergeracare so beautiful that Rostand must have written them for someone who had won his heart. He explains that this masterpiece is in a way the DNA of this show. 

“ The idea was to slip into the great moments of Cyrano > and to use it to build my play “, he mentions. 

It is Olivier Morin who embodies this romantic author, while Stéphane Brulotte, a long-time friend , directs this comedy. Gabriel Sabourin is also part of the cast. 

“ I interpret the major of a man who is very jealous, he points out. Playing in your own room is special, but I get along wonderfully with Stéphane. »

Developing this project was a long-term exercise, in particular because he designed verse for Rostand's character. 

“It's a good flash, but it was a lot of work.” 

The one who imagined in 2014, another great figure in French theatre, Georges Feydeau, in the play Le prince des jouisseurs, often wrote his texts after performing in front of a crowd. ” After the performances, I was going to write for two hours in the evening, because I was charged with this adrenaline resulting from contact with the spectators. ” 

Gabriel Sabourin therefore invites the public to an ode to theater and creation with his new proposal.

♦ Pif-Luisant is presented at the Théâtre du Rideau Vert du March 14 to April 15.