Home » Health » FTA – The virus and the prey, the impregnable balance of power

FTA – The virus and the prey, the impregnable balance of power

The argument is known, but yet it hits. Or, rather, the arguments are well known, but their impact is just as devastating. Is it the fault of the pandemic? Is it the fault of the current government? Or is it rather that the breaking point has been reached? Anyway, The virus and the prey, a work by Pierre Lefebvre and Benoît Vermeulen presented as part of the 2021 edition of the Festival TransAmériques, hurts. But wrong in a good way, if at all possible?

The argument is known, yes, because it is immemorial: the weak crushed by the strong. The doctrinaire “logic” of a system dedicated to favoring the well-to-do to the detriment of the poor of the peasant class, the low-income, the less than nothing, the poorly or poorly educated, dreamers, idealists.

On stage, however, the indictment comes to life in spectacular fashion through the mouths of four actors, four fantastic performers: Étienne Lou, Alexis Martin, Dominique Pétin and Ève Pressault. In turn, they take on the roles of society’s neglected. Or maybe not even the underdogs, hey: just those who are found in the middle, or just below. Those who may be earning a living wage, but fail to save, or certainly not save enough money to buy a property – but are quite qualified to continue paying exorbitant rents for housing that is sometimes unsanitary or too small.

Those who are educated, but not in the “right” field; those who dream of poetry, literature, arts elsewhere than just on stage. Those who think otherwise than in the form of highways, concrete and massive investments in infrastructure to revive the sacrosanct economy. Those who dream of less monolithic healthcare, more attentive to people. Those who would like something other than SUV ads on TV.

We can always deplore the absence of decor or real staging in this work. In fact, the recording made in the Wilder Building, in downtown Montreal, allows you to simply see the four actors, seated on chairs, who take turns speaking. Of course, here they are, occasionally getting carried away, getting up, taking a few steps. Couldn’t we have had the right to a real spectacle ?, one would be entitled to ask. We good people taxpayers are asking for entertainment! Leisure!

Squeaky humor aside, this destitution is paradoxically up to the anger that inhabits our characters. A dull anger, that of resigned people who still retain a hint of hope. The anger of those upon whom all the misery of the world descends, again and again, while the rich and powerful fill their pockets and their stomachs.

However, The virus and the prey, despite his rebellious title, does not call for revolution. At least not to the violent revolution. We rather hope for a human revolution, if the expression exists?

The work has the “pleasure” of reminding us how dysfunctional our system is. Fortunately, it also gives us a glimpse of another world. A world where everyone would be (a little) more equal.

Subscribe to the newsletter!

Encourage Pieuvre.ca


Other contents:

The real world, the pain of ordinary people

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.