October 1st, 2009
A theatrical take on Quebec’s highway infrastructure
By Jacob Larsen // 1 Comment
Cleaning up the mess: the de la Concorde overpass (Courtesy of the Daily Commercial News)
It is now three years after the collapse of the de la Concorde overpass in Laval and Porte Parole, Montreal theatre company, is taking a closer look at the events that led to this tragedy. In what must be the first infrastructural whodunit ever staged, Sexy Béton tries to identify those responsible after the official inquiry found no one ultimately to blame. (According to the Pierre Marc Johnson report, no single party was more responsible than the other, so the blame must be shared equally all around.)
Drawing on interviews with survivors, the play highlights the absurdity of classifying a overpass collapse as a "car accident"; as a result of this bizarre classification, Quebec's no-fault public car insurance provided no recourse for victims after they had been dutifully reimbursed for their injuries. In some instances, that meant as little as $2500, not even enough to replace their totaled vehicles.
Sexy Béton aims to not just address what happened at de la Concorde, but explicitly seeks to draw parallels to the debate over the Turcot Interchange. Their aim: for Sexy Béton to prompt Montrealers to reflect on the future of their city. But therein is the challenge: how does a play that induces fear about the state of highway infrastructure manage to encourage citizens to reflect rationally about the future of the Turcot? As a warning about under-funded highway programs, this polemical piece could easily be interpreted as a support for the MTQ's current plan for the Turcot.
But I know that's not how the playwright, nor her production company, intended it. The mistake may have been to confound these issues in the first place, although in many ways the link appears self-evident: both structures are built of concrete and steel, but the overpass incident is really about the failure of government systems to respond in a humane way to tragedy, while the Turcot issue is primarily about the future of transportation, secondarily about concrete.
If you're wondering whether I've given away the ending, I haven't. However you feel about the Turcot or de la Concorde, this is gripping theatre and well worth seeing. Check out this cute animated preview.
The first episode is over, but a second episiode - where answers begin to be revealed - begins in November.
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Comments
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I saw the play at the intimate Segal Centre venue...It was extremely well done, even riveting at times. I highly recommend it.
For me, the underlying theme or thread that ties the two projects together is how our society allows for such injustices to occur.
Easy to blame the government and/or the corrupt construction industry; also easy to be anonymous from under the blanket of 'society'... The play is a morality piece reminding us that we all must act/react in order to achieve a just society.
Each of us has a voice; each of us has a vote.
It's the very least we can do.
Comment by Jody Negley
October 2, 2009 | 6:59 pm