Dépflies is the quintessential Montreal theatre show

Somewhere out there in the old working-class neighbourhood of St-Henri, there’s a family-run dépanneur where the locals are treated like one of their own. The ones they know well get to hang out and grab a tall can from the walk-in beer fridge. Much like the barflies on Cheers, these are the regulars of the local dép, the Dépflies.

Dépflies, co-written by Alain Mercieca and Danny Belair, is a bilingual serial theatre production from Théatre Sainte Catherine’s resident company Le Nouveau International. In 2014, this passion project was picked up by CBC’s Comedy Coup program, which helps finance comedic content creators around the country. While the financing is helping them to develop the scripts for an eventual TV show, the team has since continued to produce the stage series at Théatre Sainte Catherine out of love and strong public interest.

The current episode running at Théatre Sainte Catherine, Dépflies X: Til’ Dép Do Us Part, is the tenth and latest installment in the ongoing saga of these varied and loveable characters, set in and around a location that’s truly characteristic of life in Montreal, the neighbourhood dépanneur. Love comes to find Marie-Isa at the dép. Peter’s raprock album is jeopardized by the distance that separates him from his best friend/cheap beer enthusiast Roger, who is checking out that seductive Calgary life for the sake of Nancy and their five kids. Alex, the high school friend turned eurotrash douchebag (who’s also an art dealer), finds the potential in Virginie’s artworks and gives her the self-confidence needed to kick her freeloading boyfriend to the curb.  All the while, the lively and beloved character of Maman Bellechasse shows us she can still rock along with the gang, and is indeed the glue that binds them all together.

I have to confess that even as a fan of the show I haven’t seen all of the episodes up to now. If like me, you haven’t had the honour yet, fear not: the show creators help keep the viewer up to speed by masterfully presenting characters who are so fleshed out that references to their involvement in past episodes will clue you in as to their “deal” and the role they fill within the “déposphere.”

Each episode’s improvised feel is due to the rapid fire and loose, yet effective, writing treatment by Mercieca and Belair: they speak what they know and what they’ve observed, without being too precious about what they put to paper. In turn, the actors, themselves seasoned improvisers who may not necessarily all come from a theatre background, get to work out lines on their feet, ensuring the script stays fresh for every performance throughout the week. Another advantage of working from a loose script is the ability to eventually distill the best from their nightly performances into a final TV script for when they end up shooting the episodes. Really smart.

Dépflies is funny throughout when it’s taking a break from being hilarious. It flows easily between French, English and a mish-mash of the two, while somehow remaining comprehensible to the audience. It’s heartwarming, deeply relatable, and peppered with charming little musical numbers sung with passion at just the right moments. If you come back to watch an episode, the policy is that you can see a repeat for free.

Dépflies X: Til’ Dép Do Us Part runs now until October 8 at Théatre Sainte-Catherine (264 Sainte-Catherine E), Thursday to Saturdays. Tickets are $12, available here or at the door. For more info, visit their CBC Comedy Coup page at comedycoup.cbc.ca/depflies.