I enjoy unreliable narrators, because discovering why a character lies can often reveal important truths.
This thought crossed my mind while watching The Dragonfly of Chicoutimi, a captivating one-person show written by Quebec playwright Larry Tremblay, on at the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) until October 29.
First performed onstage in 1995, just prior to the Quebec referendum on independence, this award-winning show makes clever use of both unreliable narration and innovative theatrical techniques to leave audiences wanting to know more.
Performed by the talented Alexandre Gauthier, the play tells the story of Gaston Talbot, a francophone man in his 50s from Chicoutimi, who was left unable to speak for decades after a traumatic childhood experience. One night, a dream reawakens his ability to talk, but with one strange quirk: he can only speak in English, a language he is unfamiliar with (this show was written in French syntax but is spoken in English).
Alexandre Gauthier in The Dragonfly of Chicoutimi. Photo: Curtis Perry.
Speaking to the audience, Gaston begins his tale by saying he is a well-travelled person, and that he likes to recount stories of his adventures, because through words he can “keep in touch” with everything he has seen.
The audience soon discovers that Gaston has been lying to them, a point that becomes clear time and time again, as a series of untruths become apparent once details in his story change. It’s with these repeated lies that we start to wonder whether Gaston is keeping in touch with his past—or using his strange ability to speak in English to hide from it.
The mysteries of the show are not only contained within the script, but also in the structure of the performance itself. For most of the play, the story revolves around a dream sequence, as Gaston recounts the event that led him to regain his ability to speak, albeit in English. Breaking with conventional storytelling, the audience is taken into a surreal world, wonderfully portrayed by Gauthier through the clever use of a handful of props, lighting, and sound. (Sorry, no spoilers!)
However, when Gaston suddenly awakens from his dream and we realize what drove him into silence as a child, the play brusquely reverts to a conventional format. The story, it turns out, is not a purely surreal performance, but rather a tragic tale with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The change in narration and abstract dream sequence help Gaston hide from his painful past while also allowing the play to be portrayed—at least for a time —outside of conventional story-telling structures.
I also enjoyed the questions that this work poses: Does language bring us closer to the truth or further away from it? Do dreams reveal who we are or do they allow us to hide from ourselves? Finally, this key question in the plot itself: Is Gaston a victim or the guilty party?
I left this performance filled with interesting questions and impressed by the acting, writing, and use of the stage, which, in my books, makes this play a true success.
The Dragonfly of Chicoutimi is on at the GCTC until October 29. Tickets range from $25 to $45. To find out more, check out their website.
