Unbearable Long Embraces: A Crackling Play

BET À DAY

Sex, drugs and New Age collide to form a funny, harsh and wacky, albeit a bit long, existentialist firework in Unbearable long embraces, at Théâtre Prospero.

Presented for the first time in Quebec, this text is the fruit of the abundant imagination of Ivan Viripaev, a Russian playwright who shines all over the world, but who broke his ties with his native country to become a Polish citizen because of the Kremlin's totalitarianism.

In this production, actress Christine Beaulieu reunites with director Philippe Cyr, with whom she collaborated for the hit play J’aime Hydro. She does not disappoint her admirers in the role of a thirty-year-old who decides to leave everything after feeling a huge void following an abortion. Despite all his problems, his character seems the least lost of the four who do everything to fill this hollow in them. 

Joanie Guérin is succulent in the guise of this Amy ready to give herself to the first comer, while Simon Lacroix is ​​hilarious in the skin of a Czech who arrives in New York and who will live colorful experiences. Marc Beaupré completes this excellent cast perfectly by playing a man who only thinks of getting high, without thinking about the hangover of the next day.

On two continents

This story of two men and two women losing their bearings begins in New York to be transposed to Berlin. Dark humour, self-destruction and violence rub shoulders with pleasure, esotericism and the desire to be loved in a sort of baroque portrait of our time. These contrasts form a surprising whole in an easy-to-follow plot and a successful minimalist staging.

After a start that makes you laugh yellow, the piece becomes heavier as it progresses. The story unfortunately gets bogged down towards the end and we come to want everything to end sooner. Nevertheless, for those looking for a sharp and cheeky statement, this show carried by talented actors boldly portrays our modernity.

♦ Unbearable long embraces is presented until April 22 at Prospero.

Unbearable long embraces ★★★1⁄2< /h3>

• Directed by Philippe Cyr
• With Christine Beaulieu, Marc Beaupré, Joanie Guérin and Simon Lacroix.