“My favourite moment when I go to the theatre is this one: right at the beginning, when we’re asked to turn off our phones. We disconnect from the constant stream of notifications. We look up and open ourselves to the horizon.”
Over the years, host, author and journalist Émilie Perreault has become a “professional spectator.” With La suspension consentie de l’incrédulité, she now steps onto the stage herself to tell us just how much she would like to… not be there! In this “metaphysical feel-good” solo show, she explores the fundamental role of the spectator: why do we sit in a theatre to be told a story that isn’t true? And why do we need it?
Drawing on her two acclaimed essays, Faire œuvre utile and Service essentiel : comment prendre soin de sa santé culturelle, the show revisits the works that have left their mark on Émilie Perreault, as well as the stories of the people she has encountered throughout her career as a spectator. From Mary Poppins to Robert Lepage and Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, with Patrick Watson and the legendary lip-sync contests of Club des 100 watts never far away, she explores how culture shapes the way we see the world — and ourselves. After touring across Québec, including two sold-out runs at Place des Arts’ Cinquième Salle and seven performances at Théâtre La Bordée, the show returns to where it all began, bringing the circle full circle on Théâtre Jean-Duceppe's main stage for two final performances in June 2027. “The theatre is a place where I go to take care of myself. I want people to see it that way too,” Émilie Perreault told Le Devoir. And how about you, why are you here?