This tour de force of a show from Théâtre la Seizième confirms why they are one of the leading theatre companies in Vancouver. With a sparse set and witty dialogue, three actors command the stage in this story of forced love.
Brigitte (Jessica Heafy) is sick of coming home to find her brother, Jérémie, suicidal in her closet, so she endeavours to set him up with the first single girl she finds. That happens to be Chloe (Julie Trépanier), who is minding her own business in the grocery store, looking at razors, when Brigitte tells her that she has the opportunity for a free year’s supply if she’ll come to her office for a meeting. Brigitte manipulates her by having her sign a contract that, unbeknownst to Chloe, says she will need to be in a romantic relationship in order to evaluate her free razors.
Chloe struggles to find a boyfriend under pressure, but of course Brigitte has a quick solution. She tells her to go home and meet the new love of her life. While this plot requires some suspension of disbelief, this was the part that was the hardest to accept. Jérémie (Cory Haas), assumedly at the direction of his sister, breaks into Chloe’s apartment and is waiting there for her when she arrives home from an appointment with Brigitte. Of course Chloe is skeptical at first, but she quickly comes around to the idea that they could fall in love.
I don’t know about you, but if I came home to a strange man in my apartment who casually admitted to climbing in through the window, I would probably be calling the police. Instead, Chloe savours the aroma of butter chicken (she had told Brigitte she likes Indian food) and imagines going to bed with Jérémie.
All three of these actors filled the stage with their confident performances, and I found Brigitte to be the most compelling character with her remorseless attitude and conniving scheme — she even spies on the couple from outside their window to make sure things are going according to plan.
Unlikely plot elements aside, the story served as an intelligent commentary on the contrasting lifestyles of singledom and coupledom. Brigitte revels in the fact that she is free to live her life alone and sprawl across her entire bed, while Jérémie and Chloe can’t imagine life without each other.
