Le Fils: The Love Intertwining Life and Death
On September 27th, The Rideau Vert Theatre began its 2022-2023 season with Le Fils, a play that dives into the depths of love, loss, and portrays a broken family trying to navigate the ups and downs. Written by Florian Zeller, a French playwright whose pieces are some of the most reenacted and translated in the world, and brought to the stage by René Richard Cyr, Le Fils completes a series of three plays that orbit around family relations: La Mère (2010) and Le Père (2012).
Newly graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada, actor Émile Ouellette leads the production, playing the character of Nicolas. Accompanied by Vincent-Guillaume Otis and Sylvie de Morais-Nogueira as the parents, performers Stéphanie Arav, Charles-Aubey Houde, and Frédéric Paquet complete the cast.
Almost every night until November 5th, the theatre is immersed in the story of Nicolas and all those around him. When the teenager hits a rough patch, those around him say ‘it’s school’, ‘it’s his age’, ‘it’s a breakup’; nobody sees how deeply Nicolas is struggling with his mental health following the divorce of his parents. There is a disconnection between him and the world, one that is illustrated in a raw and emotional manner as we see Nicolas skip school, lie to his parents, alternate between who he lives with, turn to self-harm, and drift away from those who are trying to protect him from himself.
« Il s’agit de le protéger. Et malheureusement, dans ce cas-là, l’amour suffit pas. »
“It’s about protecting him. And unfortunately, in this case, love is not enough.”
This narrative that unfolds is not only captivating, but brings to life meaningful, powerful, and emotionally charged moments that connect with the audience, who undoubtedly is bound to shed a tear. From Nicolas confronting his stepmother and asking her if she knew his dad was married when they met, to the parallel of Nicolas’ suffering intertwined with Pierre, his father, causing pain to all those around him, the family’s chaos is portrayed as multidimensional and crippling. During one scene, Nicolas breaks down and wrecks his father and stepmother’s apartment, throwing everything to the ground. For the rest of the production, those items stay on stage, scattered left and right. In a way, this metaphorically demonstrates the mayhem that continues emerging in the play. We also see a vivid characterization of Pierre, whose vulnerability wavers and culminates to the point where we hear him admit how much he hates that he’s becoming his father and saying the same “What will you become?” and “At your age…” lines to his son.
As for the thespians themselves, the latter did a phenomenal job at capturing and externalizing incredibly complex and difficult emotions. They go beyond the surface in showing that no sentiment or situation is ever black or white.
Although the script itself was at times a bit obvious, the visual elements such as the stage decor and costumes were on point. The lighting was well done, accentuating certain areas and adding a dramatic flare. Most of the narrative takes place in an apartment setting and the decor did that justice by looking incredibly realistic. One of the truly clever and creative parts about the design is that there is a couch centre-stage, being rotated 180 degrees every time the setting alternates between the father and the mother’s apartments.
All in all, between the skilled performers, the plot twist at the very end, and the faithful portrayal of depression and other mental health struggles, Le Fils is a play that speaks to rocky family relationships and paints a story full of heartfelt moments.
René Richard Cyr, in a quote presented on screen before the show, states: “En compagnie d’une équipe de conception et d’interprètes intelligents et sensibles, nous avons plongé dans cette histoire troublante où l’on se demande jusqu’à quel point l’amour peut suffire à guérir le mal et les blessures de l’âme.” (“Along with an intelligent and sensitive design team and performers, we dove into this unsettling story where we wonder to what point love is enough to heal the hurt and the wounds of the soul.”)
Émile Ouellette, in a written statement shown to the audience after being asked how he’d describe his teenage years, says: “[…] on se doit de trouver sa place dans le monde. On cherche, on ne trouve pas toujours; c’est difficile. C’est un passage obligé qui manque d’élégance, de reconnaissance. Bien qu’on y tisse souvent des liens pour la vie, qu’on y découvre beaucoup sur ce qui nous définit, qu’on y apprend énormément, l’adolescence reste une période mal menée. C’est bien ingrat de devenir un adulte quand pas plus tard qu’hier, nous étions enfant.” (“[…] we have to find our place in the world. We search, we do not always find it; it’s difficult. It’s a necessary part of life but lacks elegance, recognition. Although we often make lifelong friendships, discover a lot about what defines us, learn a lot, adolescence remains a rough period. It’s quite destabilizing to become an adult when just yesterday we were children.”)
