Sensory spin

>> Le Boson de Higgs fuses music, language
and movement

by AMY BARRATT

Going into Le Groupe de poèsie moderne’s Le Boson de Higgs last week, I vaguely expected a seafaring theme. I initially mistook “boson” for “bosun,” a contraction of “boatswain.” “Boson,” as I’m sure you know, is a term in quantum physics for a particle with integral spin.

The one discovered by Higgs is particularly evasive, apparently, to the point where no one, not even Higgs, has ever actually seen it. Le Boson de Higgs is not about bosons or Higgs, but it is, like the particle, somewhat elusive, difficult to pin down.

Rather like the GPM itself, which, as the members like to say, has long been classified as unclassifiable. Founded in 1993 by writers Benoît Paiement and Bernard Dion, it first cropped up at spoken word and cabaret events. The texts are all about the sound of words and the playful exploration of language, but their performance style has developed into something far more than a reading. In this fully realized theatrical creation at the Monument-National, the rhythm of language is twinned with a rhythmic use of the body that is exciting to watch and, I should think, very demanding on the performers.

There are four of them in Le Boson: writer Paiement, Francis Néron, Christophe Rapin and Félixe Ross. All four portray, let’s not say themselves, but characters with the same first names as themselves. The text is a collage of short texts by Dion and Paiement and arranged by director Robert Reid. They approach the piece like a musical score, mingling solo parts with duets, trios and quartets. Though there is a storyline—about four friends going off on their separate travels, keeping in touch by mail and reuniting to rehearse a play called Le Boson de Higgs—there’s also a sense that the bits of text have been organized in the way that they will sound the best. All four actors know how to use their voices as instruments to full effect.

And then there’s the wonderfully versatile set by Jonas Veroff Bouchard, with Classical arches evoking European travels as well as studies in the hallowed halls of higher learning. There’s a wonderfully fake-looking fake staircase, repeatedly used by the actors not as a staircase but as what it really is, a ramp. The look is black-and-white except for a few touches of red. François Marceau’s lighting repeats this high-contrast look, using shadows to great effect, but never leaving us to search for the actors in the gloom.

The final theatrical effect is provided by piano music performed live by Sylvain Bertrand. This consists of mainly familiar classical and pop tunes, often slightly skewed with intentional dissonance.

This is work that’s different without being pretentious, smart without being obscure. Check it out. :

Le Boson de Higgs runs to Sept 22, 8:30pm at Salle duMaurier, Monument-National. Tickets $22, $15 students. Limited two-for-one places available on even-number days. 871-2224

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