“Noir”, Jérémie Biel’s new creation, promises to thrill Quat’Sous Theater in Montreal, thanks to a sensory experience that is closer to cinema than theater.
In the abysses of a Quebec forest of the 1920s are three actors, Christian Bégin, Évelyne de la Chenelière and Justin Laramée, who will hold the audience in suspense until the last minute of the performance. The sound design is masterfully signed by Sylvain Bellemare, to whom we owe the soundtrack of the film “Arrival”, a work that earned him an Oscar.
It is no coincidence that the director Jérémie Biel appealed to his expertise: he wanted a multisensory atmosphere worthy of the cinema. As Sylvain Bellamare often plays with metaphorical and fantastic codes in the cinema, he was the right person for this project, even if it was only his second experience as a sound designer at the theater.
“Jérémie wanted a craftsman from the cinema,” says Sylvain Bellemare. My mandate was to produce an atmosphere worthy of a detective film or a fantastic thriller, but always with that touch of humor and lightness. “
“I left with realistic and organic materials that I transformed using software. I had to recreate, for example, the movements of the earth or the sounds of animals, “he continues.
Letting himself be inspired by the image of a macabre and gloomy forest, he has transposed his sonic universe into the intimate hall of Théâtre de Quat’Sous. A long-term job, which took him nearly eight months of preparation.
The challenges of theater
Sylvain Bellemare recognizes that the theater is more alive than the cinema, in the sense that it is in constant evolution, from the first rehearsal to the first night. It is impossible to have so much freedom in the cinema, because of the technical and budgetary constraints.
“In addition, the piece was written by the actors, so they got their hands dirty in the whole creative process,” he explains. It made me feel very free to come, leave, try new ideas and start again. “
His biggest challenge was composing a long soundtrack, which was to keep the audience alert throughout this seventy-five-minute play.
“In the cinema, these are small sequences, whereas for the needs of the play, I had to compose a long sequence, almost without dead time”, he mentions.