Josée Bilodeau, Le Voir, December 2005
“Carole Nadeau’s multidisciplinary work is unlike anything else. Her recent creation, Les Bonobos, is perfectly constructed of interlocking fragments that form a coherent whole. The theme of couple relationships is a fertile device for multiple viewpoints. The difference with this show is that it doesn’t offer any clues for our interpretation, but raises a host of questions about the animal side of our love relationships. Are we so like these little chimps? By assembling fragments of texts from great writers, Carole Nadeau has built a wonderful work that succeeds both as a play and a visual installation.”
Marie Labrecque, Le Devoir, December 2005
“ What do we call the reverse of anthropomorphism, when an animal is used as a metaphor for human behavior? Under the simian mask that they wear from time to time, the Bonobo characters remind us, if we need, that humans are animals… especially in an area where drives are so basic as in love and sex. It is an inexhaustible subject, which benefits here from the multidisciplinary approach chosen by Carole Nadeau, a prolific artist who over the last decade has carried on a fascinating experiment blending theatre, installation and video. Performed with a very complex sound accompaniment, the piece plays cleverly on its main stage prop: a large screen that works like a mirror. Christophe Rapin and Félixe Ross show considerable flexibility in playing various characters in successive scenes. Despite the diversity of styles, a certain coherence emerges from Les Bonobos. In tableaus that are often humorous, sometimes disturbing and always the very opposite of rose-scented romance, the work lays bare the roller-coaster ride of love.”
Anne-Marie Cloutier, La Presse, November 2005
“The entire show is enlivened by a crisp, melodious sound environment… high definition sound. The success of Les Bonobos lies above all in its unified tone. From one text to another, from one approach to another, a monochromatic despair is maintained with clinical strictness and serves as the template for all the different fabrics of the patchwork quilt. With this sort of theme, that isn’t always the case. In short, you will learn that in matters of love, the bonobos greatly surpass us in enlightenment. Hurry if you want to see them, they are becoming extinct.”
François Lemay, Ici, November 2005
“ Basic Instinct. Organic theatre, that like life itself, moves at the speed of experimental, creative thought. Carole Nadeau is never orthodox in her approach. She is an unclassifiable artist who seeks to create within the theatre a form of expression combining installations and the visual arts.”
Christian Saint-Pierre, Voir, December 2005
“With agility, enthusiasm and talent, two young actors, Félixe Ross and Christophe Rapin, play several couples torn between their need for love and their drive for sex. When on video, Francine Beaudry and Michel Perrier portray the Marchioness of Merteuil and the Viscount of Valmont naked and growing old, the audience holds its breath.”
