TVA: comedians from “L’Échappée” gathered to celebrate the grand finale

MISE & Agrave; DAY

Earliest actors from “L'Échappée” gathered Thursday with comrades who have joined them over the seven seasons to mark the upcoming end of the TVA soap opera. Yes, it's time for the conclusion, there are only three episodes left before the grand finale on March 27. 

Educator Robin Despaties, played by Jean-François Nadeau, has supported a lot of young people at the L'Échappée center since the first episode, broadcast in September 2016. “What I found most important was to honor the educators . These are very thankless professions, vocations, they work hard with young people who have terrible paths, ”said the actor.

Having the opportunity to “welcome” a lot of up-and-coming performers on the set pleased Jean-François Nadeau, who teaches improvisation at the Conservatoire d'art dramatique de Montréal and who believes in transmission, after 21 years business. It must be said that “L'Échappée” was a formidable breeding ground for talent, offering strong dramatic scores to Laurie Babin, Kelly Depeault, Sam-Éloi Girard, Éléonore Loiselle, Devon O'Connor and Noah Parker, to name only those.

• PHOTO QMI AGENCY, JOEL LEMAY

• PHOTO AGENCY QMI, JOEL LEMAY

• PHOTO QMI AGENCY, JOEL LEMAY

• PHOTO QMI AGENCY, JOEL LEMAY

• PHOTO AGENCY QMI, JOEL LEMAY

• PHOTO QMI AGENCY, JOEL LEMAY

• PHOTO QMI AGENCY, JOEL LEMAY

• PHOTO QMI AGENCY, JOEL LEMAY

• PHOTO QMI AGENCY, JOEL LEMAY

• PHOTO AGENCY QMI, JOEL LEMAY

• PHOTO QMI AGENCY, JOEL LEMAY

• PHOTO QMI AGENCY, JOEL LEMAY

• PHOTO AGENCY QMI, JOEL LEMAY

• PHOTO QMI AGENCY, JOEL LEMAY

• PHOTO AGENCY QMI, JOEL LEMAY

Kelly Depeault, in particular, experienced all kinds of emotions through her character of Claudie, who did not have it easy as the daughter of late serial killer David Lelièvre (Patrick Hivon). The young actress seen on the big screen in “The goddess of fire flies” befriended Éléonore Loiselle, star these days of “Disobeir: Chantale Daigle's choice”.

“We were a gang of young people learning together,” Kelly said, grateful to have been able to shine in this first major project for her.

“Our characters have been through everything, so we learned through that”, added Éléonore.

Same trainer story for Sam-Éloi Girard. He already had experience behind the tie, in youth TV, but “L'Échappée” allowed him to broaden his playing field by camping Manu, who killed two friends by causing an accident while he was in advanced state of intoxication. At first angry, aggressive and manipulative, Manu found a lifeline thanks to Robin.

“We see Manu's complete journey in three years, from his arrival to his exit. I had the chance to show another facet of my game. It also allows me to see how a center like L'Échappée can change the course of some young people. His accident will follow him all his life, as is the case for Robin, but there is hope, “said the actor, who we also follow in “Le bonheur”.

Big names in the credits

Several big names, such as Sophie Cadieux, Rémy Girard and Chantal Fontaine have settled in Sainte-Alice in recent seasons.

“It was so pleasant to play a policewoman; how you walk, how you stand. Gisèle was not seductive, she didn't care what she looked like, ”said Chantal Fontaine, who has been an actress for 37 years. “The older I get, the more I like what I do.”

Anick Lemay, who plays Noémie, the sister of the starting heroine, Brigitte (Julie Perreault left the series in 2020), has been less present in the last two seasons. “After five seasons, I asked to be released to do other projects. […] I like things to end in the business, because that means that something else will happen. Life doesn't like a vacuum!”

Light and… darkness

The last word goes to the main author Mylène Cholet, who took over from Michelle Allen three seasons ago. “There were a lot of threads to tie. I wanted to find a balance between the desire for light for the characters, but at the same time it can't end well for everyone. I'm a big TV 'fan' and I know what it's like to say goodbye to a show, so I wrote the finale with viewers in mind.”

• Produced by Amalga , in collaboration with Quebecor Content, “L'Échappée” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on TVA. The grand finale is March 27.