Christian Essiambre knows his comedy – and his craft
Gifted young actor has a knack for storytelling
What do I know about Acadian culture beyond author Antonine Maillet, her La Sagouine and the amazing Viola Léger who incarnated the role for so many years?
Sadly, little, other than a superficial acquaintance with the music of Roch Voisine (attended a concert once) and Edith Butler.
But this is going to change now that I’ve discovered Christian Essiambre. This gifted (plus handsome and charming) young actor/playwright convinced me within the space of 90 minutes that there’s a nouveau New Brunswick out there. And it could be worth exploring.
Essiambre’s Les trois exils de Christian E., which is making its Montreal debut at Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, is a meandering monologue delivered in a range of Acadian and Québécois dialects — with a fair amount of English thrown in. But there’s so much heart, soul and craft to it that no one who truly embarks is likely to bail out before the end.
Essiambre is articulate, funny, a born mimic and adept at physical theatre. Christian’s attempts to get rid of his accent and master Montreal French are hilarious. (He ends up rubbing his sore jaw.) His take on a Quebec tourist in N.B. who assures an Acadian that “when we’re independent, we’ll keep a small place for you, in our hearts,” is priceless. As are his rocking-chair La Sagouine moments.
That being said, astute editing could have brought this autobiographical tourde-force down to more digestible 75 minutes. At least a portion of the applause is just for going the distance without missing a beat.
Given that Essiambre, who was raised in Mckendrick, N.B., and Quebec City director/co-author Philippe Soldevila co-created this show back in 1999, as a co-production of Quebec City’s Théâtre Sortie de Secours and Moncton’s Théâtre L’Escaouette, he should know his lines by now. It has already played Moncton, Quebec City and a few places in between.
Essiambre, dressed in blue jeans and using a wooden chair as a prop, tells the story of a young actor named Christian who has moved to Montreal from N.B. because his girlfriend, Isabelle, is doing her medical studies here.
When not auditioning for commercials, or attending mime class, he spends time playing video games. His mother calls frequently. His girlfriend berates him for being a recluse, so he heads out in the streets to recruit “new friends,” to little avail.
With a theatre resumé whose main item is eight years spent impersonating folkloric characters in Le Pays de la Sagouine in Bouctouche, N.B., Christian is not making rapid progress in Montreal.
Fond memories of the past beckon as he idles within his self-imposed urban exile, and we are introduced to various members of Christian’s extended family, including three first cousins, Marc, Daniel and Jeff, all of them, including Christian, born within the same week. This remarkable coincidence meant a close four-way friendship that lasted until adulthood, when Jeff left without a forwarding address. Daniel adjusted, and settled into a life as a mechanic. Marc, however, retreated into a fog of drugs and booze.
When, Marc, too, goes missing, Christian drives home to find him. And from here on in, the play takes a serious turn, into roots-searching angst. There’s more to Christian E. than comedy. But, oh, can Essiambre score a laugh!