"In this play the most astonishing is that there is no drama, the hosts won't kill their guest to steal his money, the guest is not there to liberate the young girl from a bad guy. Gaëtan Brulotte seems to bet on building a play without polemical conflict. On the contrary, the character of the customer is soothed by the dances Mélanie executes and by the sweet words of his host who talks to him about art and passion. Little by little he lets himself be charmed by the soft and peaceful universe; and the reader lets cast a spell on himself by these dialogues where the good feelings become true literature." Sylvie Bérard, Lettres québécoises, 107 (Fall 2002), p.42.
"A play that hits you in the pit of the stomach and does not let you go
(…) When we search for living authors whose writing and plot are a wonder,
we can find… Gaëtan Brulotte is one of them (…) produces a
ripe fruit, a treasure of a play from which the actors extract the delicious
juice. (…) A play with an atmosphere that seeps into your skin and which
is absolutely to be seen." Jean-Michel Gautier, La Marseillaise du
Vaucluse, Avignon, July 17, 2001, p. 5
"Chaurette, Tremblay, Garneau, Fréchette. The dramatic literature
from Quebec has been, for some years, very present on our stages. We must now
count on Gaëtan Brulotte. (…) A strange and captivating play with
a climate close to the universe of Pinter or Beckett. (…) One does not
leave untouched from this show, which is silk thread woven, and one is glad
to discover in Gaëtan Brulotte a playwright with an unusual universe and
a precise style. Its rich implicitness opens profound layers of meaning."
Jean-Pierre Siméon, L'Humanité, July 20, 2001, p.19
"This beautiful play is astonishing for several reasons. First because this violin-maker who has finally achieved perfection and is confronted with the emptiness of a near death is fascinating as a snake charmer. Second because it calls in an actor, a musician and a dancer, which is uncommon. Finally because it talks about solitude with melancholy but without sadness and even with sweet savour." Alain Pécoult, Agora Pièces, 2001.
"The text, stage direction and execution are literally captivating. The
spectator enters a store at the same time as the customer does and neither will
get out, fascinated as he is by this complete show which mixes poetry, drama,
suspense (oh! yes!), music and even dance. (…) Drama, said Jouvet, is
above all a beautiful language. Here we are well served. The text is magnificent,
very rich and very open. One may see in it the work of all types of seduction,
beneficial or evil. One may find a questioning of heritage transmission and
lineage. Each sentence sends us back to our lives…" Jean Regad,
Sud Théâtre, July 20, 2001
"Le Client is by far a major play on the contemporary drama scene. (…)
It is so rare to see such alchemy of passion, emotion, madness and ambiguity
(…) of an exceptional quality." Valérie Lods, L'Olivié
quotidien, Avignon, July 18, 2001.
"I was dazzled and left this show filled will real emotion (…) This show transported me elsewhere, it seemed to me to be a far away journey during which I would have learned a bit more about over here." Myriam Calmard, Passion-Théâtre on the Internet, July 17, 2001.
"First surprise: it is a real play that gets one's attention. A no-exit of the weird and the absurd that unfolds between an old violin-maker, a young autistic woman who accompanies him, and a passing by customer who is a part-time violinist and has a strange and heavy past. A well written and put together work, which is in the tradition of Beckett and Ionesco - and for Quebec, which relates to Chaurette more than to Tremblay. The stage direction is spare and efficient, actors are excellent, beginning with the director Charles Tordjman playing the violin-maker." Louis-Bernard Robitaille, La Presse, Montreal, July 21, 2001, p. D-14.
"A rich and complex text." Mélanie Delaballe, La Provence, 7-20-01, p. 7
"I was profoundly touched: by the mixture of spontaneity and reserve, the confidences and secrets of this man whose life is entirely summoned up in his chest of drawers, commodes and violins, which are suspended to the ceiling; by the extraordinary presence of Mélanie, his companion, prisoner of a handicap that opens other doors to her sensibility; by the reflection of the violins in the chiaroscuro; by the fact of listening to violin playing, at last (I had waited for that moment so much!); and by many other things." Michel Ventura, Passion-Théâtre on the Internet, July 24, 2001.
"This suave play could belong to the universe of Kafka or Tchekhov. (…) His play is conceived like a short story. His technique has similarities with Marcel Aymé's who gets the fantastic surging directly from the daily life. But in Brulotte it is the poetry which transfigures ordinary beings.(…) We are literally charmed, in ecstasy. (…) We are in the presence of a marvelous fable, which excludes neither the metaphysical questions nor the profound complexity of the characters. (…) This show is an enchantment, received like a balm, and which persuades us that even the simplest lives conceal precious beauties." Chrysale, Les Affiches de Grenoble et du Dauphiné, N° 4002, May 18, 2001, p. 108-109.
"Gaëtan Brulotte's play is bathed in a disquieting atmosphere, his characters have weird tempers, disconcerting interactions (…) It is a slow and insidious move that catches and hypnotizes us, crossed with vivid respirations full of humor and irony. The stage direction by Charles Tordjman gives birth to a fascinating text and universe. To be urgently discovered." Le Carré, Bulletin culturel intercantonal (France) No 20, May 2001.
"The play Le Client underscores the growing power of the feeling of existence. Mélanie was the silent melody, the one that we have seen more than heard, the one by whom everything will arrive, the how and why. She will authorize us to sing the song of life on a choreography that is felt down into the intimate depth of the senses. (…) From her silence a communication is established that is beyond formalities and conventions and which is a coordinating conjunction linking the beings to one another, each for and by the other. (…) These destinies draw near each other, observe each other, are united, and separated, favoring the extension of the self, of the rhythm, of common passion, the music of existence." Anne Marie Carbonari, Le Dauphiné Libéré, Grenoble, June 10, 2001.
"It seems to me that Le Client, apart from being a very beautiful play, is an almost perfect example of an important trend in the contemporary theatre, which has not been that much observed under this light, and that I would call "The Drama of the Unusual" Lucile Martineau, "Théâtre de l'Insolite: Le Client" in Fisher, Claudine, dir. Gaëtan Brulotte: Une Nouvelle Écriture. New York: Mellen Press, 1992, p.45.
"I felt a suspens all along the play, this is due to the characters which seems to be unpredictible." Yasmine Chettouh, Passion-théâtre, juillet 2003.
"Lights open up on suspended violins. A tall, skinny, disturbing man, with a bony face, hesitates to enter in the violin-maker shop, a short, stocky man with a wrinkled face and who invites him to get in the store. I am fascinated by the mystery that surrounds them. Their relationship intrigues me, as they go from tension to trust. The violin-maker confesses his personal secrets to the customer by opening his commode drawers. In return, the customer confides as well. The atmosphere frightens me: languidness, impression of seeing the characters evolving in a parallel world, a place from which one never gets out. The whereabouts of a young handicapped woman that the violin-maker welcome besides him a few year earlier bring to the place some movement, fresh air, color. I am fascinated by the strangeness of the characters and the enclosed scene: something is holding them, something permanently attracts my eyes." Sophie Cocheteux, Passion-Théâtre, juillet 2003.
First of all I am conquered by this play, which is full of beautiful violins falling from the ceiling. It is the shop of a violin-maker. This universe makes me dream, if only because of the beauty of the instruments and of the passion felt by those who play them. There is also a certain mystery. This sensation is even accented by a white transparent veil spread from the ceiling to the floor, and which symbolizes the windows and the back-shop. In the "spider web" the customer will be caught." Angélique Zaini, Passion-théâtre, juillet 2003.
"I feel love in this shop, love of nice material, of simple handcrafted wood furniture, of sensual and colorful instruments. I feel love in this house where the violin-maker has hosted a young retarded woman, driven away from the dangers of the streets and who is joyfully dancing as soon as the violin is played. There is love between the old man and the young passer-by, as the master, feeling his end close, has chosen him as his pupil; he lets the pupil take charge of his heritage by simply following his heart. (…) This old violin-maker makes me understand that if one passes on his art with love, there is no defeat in front of death." Angélique Zaini, Passion-théâtre, juillet 2003.
This play is one of the most beautiful there are in this festival (...) the writing is very close to the action, close to the human being, close to the soul. Le Client reveals an acute knowledge of the heart, the complications of the intellect, of the stuttering of the reason, of the stammering of life." Vincent Cambier, www.ruedutheatre.info July 29, 2003.