Philippe Cyr and David Paquet craft another reflection on survival in Le palais des glaces

Theatre director Philippe Cyr and playwright David Paquet have reunited for a third major collaboration: Le palais des glaces, a dark comedy that explores how people invent survival.

The two met at Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe, where both were enrolled in an exploration theatre program, though in different cohorts. They reconnected several times in Montréal before nearly collaborating in 2008 on a show called Et si je n'étais pas passé par là ? at the Prospero theatre, where Cyr is now artistic director. "David had written a magnificent text," Cyr said, "but it didn't find its place in the ensemble. I had to remove it, to my regret."

That excised scene resurfaced a decade later, in 2018, in Le brasier at the Centre du Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui. The production featured Paul Ahmarani, Kathleen Fortin, and Dominique Quesnel in dual roles, embodying characters who survive traumatic childhoods by inventing alternate lives. The performance impressed critics with its "singular presence" and "fascinating language," anchored by a strong aesthetic signature.

The success of Le brasier led to another partnership: in 2019, under the Théâtre Bluff banner, Cyr and Paquet created Le poids des fourmis, a play for adolescents addressing eco-anxiety and climate despair in vivid, realistic terms. The production was described as a "satisfying satire" with a "sincere and moving" ending that "establishes empathy as the basis of revolution." Seven years later, featuring Nathalie Claude, Gaétan Nadeau, Gabriel Szabo, and Elisabeth Smith, the play continues to resonate. Cyr said the company performed 100 dates this year and plans 50 dates in France next year.

Now they're at work on Le palais des glaces—a comedy that is as grinning as it is tragic, as tender as it is fierce, as human as it is merciless, with a touch of dystopia. Paquet conceived the piece during a month-long writing residency in Carleton-sur-Mer in 2021. "My characters are always slightly archetypal," he said. "They're monsters, fairy-tale figures. You might think them one-dimensional at first, but they grow more complex as the play unfolds. I like the emotional tightrope-walking that comes with it—you never know how they'll react: sometimes mundane, sometimes radical."

The production will premiere in Carleton-sur-Mer before touring to Montréal and Sherbrooke.