La suspension consentie de l’incrédulité

“My favourite moment when I go to the theatre is right at the start, when the audience is asked to turn off our cell phones. We cut ourselves off from the incessant notifications. We lift our heads to the horizon.”  Over the years, host, author, and journalist Émilie Perreault has become a “professional spectator.” With La suspension consentie de l’incrédulité (The Willing Suspension of Disbelief), she begins an adventure with the stage, treading the boards for the first time to tell us how much she would like… not to be there!

This “metaphysical, feel-good,” one-woman show, presented in the early evening as a 5 à 7 performance, is a reflection on the foundational role of spectator: why do we sit in a theatre to be told things that aren’t true. Why do we need it?

La suspension consentie de l’incrédulité draws on Émilie Perreault’s two celebrated essays about the importance of culture (Faire oeuvre utile and Service essentiel: comment prendre soin de santé culturelle). She revisits memorable shows she has seen and the stories of people she has encountered along her journey as a spectator. Mary Poppins makes an appearance alongside Robert Lepage and Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, and the music of Patrick Watson and the well-known lip sync competitions of Le Club des 100 watts are never far off. “Theatre is where I go for self-care. I want people to see it a bit like that. Because culture tends to be the thing we get to on the weekend if we have spare time. It is not considered essential, when we should be making a point of going. And I think I am the sum of everything I have seen, everything I have read. Each of these works has helped shape who I am,” Émilie Perreault told Le Devoir. And how about you? Why are you here?