After having explored the question of identity from several angles, Mani Soleymanlou launches into a new cycle of creation focusing on remembrance and memory. To do this, his company Orange noyée offers three weeks of research and creation at La Chapelle. The title of this three-part project: Free Quarters/Time-Off/Free Tiempo.
It was within the walls of the small theater on rue Saint-Dominique in Montreal that Mani Soleymanlou created his autobiographical solo Un, 11 years ago. In the same place, he presented the premieres of Deux and Zéro. For his return to “his theatrical home”, the playwright decided to break with the tradition of numbers which topped his previous shows. The title of his new creation presented in November in front of an audience: Zamân or we have the same time we had.
“Zaman means “epoch” in Farsi, Hebrew, Arabic. For this new cycle, I want to move away from autofiction, even if the raw material of the show is very personal. At the start of the pandemic, my mother became ill. She lost her speech. Doctors gave him two months to live. I then began to write the two episodes of the Poproblement Onze podcast as if in mourning. I revisited the time when she was better, I delved into the memories of my childhood life…”
His mother defied the odds. She now lives in a CHSLD and has regained her speech. “But she lost track of time. She no longer recognizes the days or the seasons. She still wants to keep her watch on her wrist…”
His mother’s loss of temporal reference points combined with this elasticity of time which seems to rush for some and stretch for others is at the heart of this co-creation. Because Mani Soleymanlou does not work alone this time.
“I decided to do a stage version of Probably Onze with the five musicians from Valaire. I wanted to present a music show in the theater, wanted to go beyond the framework of the theater to break down the fourth wall even more. »
Why Valaire? “I fell in love with the group. I love their energy on stage. I offered to collaborate on this show; They said yes! »
The Valaire gang had access to the podcast. But when it comes to the show itself, they have no idea what awaits them. Mani Soleymanlou is just as confused. “We meet on November 6, the first is on the 9. We have three days to put everything in place, to see what will emerge from the chaos. »
The show presented in front of an audience at La Chapelle on November 9, 10 and 11 will therefore be in its stage stages. “It’s an unplugged version, closer to the sketch… Maybe the piece will stay like that, maybe not. Who knows ? »
One thing is certain, he hopes that the three performances of Zamân will allow him to interact directly with the public. “That’s why I wanted to keep a cabaret side, a jazz club side. It is possible that I challenge the public, that we chat together. »
At the same time as the Zamân show, Mani Soleymanlou accepted that someone other than himself would take on the solo Un. But not just anyone: he entrusted its creation to Victor Andrés Trelles Turgeon, a very long-time friend with whom he studied in Toronto as a teenager.
“It will be the first time that another actor will carry this show, these words. It’s very special! At La Chapelle, we present an improved reading of the text in Spanish. » A dance show inspired by cumbia entitled Sabor de mi corazón will be added to the second part of Uno, on October 27 and 28.
With this show, the man who directs the CNA French Theater hopes to reach out to the Hispanic community in Montreal, who do not necessarily attend theaters.
His desire is the same in joining forces with the Valaire gang: to seek out another audience, younger perhaps. He says: “After a show presented in front of few people in Shawinigan, I wondered how to reach out to those who don’t recognize themselves in the theater. What if we went towards them rather than expecting the opposite? »
The creator also wanted to offer the public the chance to participate in philosophical workshops. Children aged 9 to 12 and their favorite adults will be able to discuss, in two separate groups, the question of memory and memories. The Philosophical Quarters are presented on the mornings of November 4 and 11.