CASTING CANTAT: A RebuttalThis particular controversy may be over but the questions it sparked will remain.
joel fishbane
Last week, all across the web, editors and pundits weighed in on Theatre du Noveau Monde’s decision to involve Bernard Cantat in an upcoming production. For the few of you who still don’t know, Cantat was convicted of manslaughter for the death of actress Marie Trintingant. The media had a field day, calling Cantat a “killer” and critiquing TNM for “casting a murderer”. On Friday, artistic director Lorraine Pintal announced that Cantat would no longer be presenting Des Femmes, the new Wadji Mouawad play of which M. Cantat was to be a part.
This particular controversy may be over but the questions it sparked will remain. Last week’s outrage had less to do with theatrical ethics and more with our discomfort regarding the re-integration of violent offenders into our society. It is the nature of Cantat’s crime that disgusts us (and rightly so). Many feel his parole came far too quickly and there appears to be an unspoken implication that by hiring him, TNM is being unsympathetic to his victims - and that, by buying tickets, audiences would be doing the same. This begs many questions. Is it ever possible to separate the art from the artist? How long a time is appropriate between an artist’s crime and their return to the public eye? When their crime is as violent as M. Cantat’s, should they ever be allowed to return? And if they do return, is it justifiable to involve them in your production?
