ABC Démolition: An alphabet game becomes the key to a shared history of love, denial and secrets as two characters face the truth about their past.
Annik Léger . Photo Mathieu Girard
Two people in an old school situated somewhere in Northern Ontario start a game of alphabet. One says a word and the other spells it. She is a teacher; he is a demolition worker. His job is to demolish the old school building and her intention is to save it, even at the cost of her own life. Because she is a teacher who used to teach in this school and whose life revolved around generations of kids for so long that it became the essence of her life, she can’t allow others to destroy it. So now, she stands inside the school armed with dynamite stuck to her belt, ready to push the button and blow everything up, including herself. It soon becomes apparent that these two have known each other for a long time and that they share a history of love, denial and secrets. The situation gets more and more complicated with each word spelt, reaching its culmination with the last letter.
This seemingly simple story proves to be very complex. The game, which seems without pattern at the beginning, actually depicts the reality of the characters themselves and their innermost motivations. Who are we? What are our demons? Are we ready to face the truth? Michel Ouellette uses words to underline the significance of our acts, questioning their meaning. For instance, the letter C can correspond to either courage or cowardliness. Which one is closer to the truth that we carry inside ourselves is open to interpretation. The unorthodox structure of the play gives additional power to the author’s idea and proves to be far more than just unique. Usually, the story is told through the dialogue. Ouellette takes a different approach so that their history is only the background; the meat of the story lies in the all-revealing alphabet game. Perfectly balanced with the game, the dialogue, which carries the weight of the past and the problem of the present moment, weaves the story that grows in intensity and emotion from one moment to another.
ABC Demolition is an extraordinary narrative, but also a perfect opportunity for the artistic team to show its full potential, a task Théâtre de la Vieille 17 lives up to. Annick Léger and Paul Rainville portrayed their respective characters in such a fashion that the only question your reviewer could ask was whether they were acting or having a personal, real-life argument on the stage. With every sentence, with every word or letter uttered, they injected more and more life and passion into the play, culminating in the moment when each of them simply started repeating “je…je…je.. (I…I…I…). All the pain, loneliness and inability to cope with reality exploded on the stage in those moments. Every movement spoke for itself; not a glance was wasted. There were no interruptions in the flow of the narrative or ups and downs in the execution. From the first second to the last, the play flowed and connected with the audience, as real as life itself. The spectators, who filled the venue to the last seat, followed the story in breathless silence. This show is definitely worth seeing and for theatre lovers it is a must.
ABC Démolition
Written by: Michel Ouellette
Production: Théâtre de la Vieille 17
Director: Esther Beauchemin and Roch Castonguay
Set & Costumes Design: Normand Thériault
CAST
Annick Léger
Paul Rainville
It plays at Salle Desjardins Caisses La Nouvelle Scène from November 14 to 24, 2012 (English subtitles November 15 and 22nd).