Sophia’s Reviews - FringeMTL 2026
Double Vie
I arrived at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montreal early; eager to get out of the sweltering heat and inside the theatre. I follow the signs that say “FringMTL” upstairs to the multimedia room. There, I check in for the show, but I can’t go in just yet since we’re still 20 minutes away from show time.
“We’ll let you in in 15 minutes,” I’m told.
So, I decided to walk around the conservatory. As I take in my new surroundings, I think about what a play called Double Vie could entail beyond the synopsis written on the Fringe Festival website. Would it drop the comedy aspect halfway through in favor of a more dramatic take? The poster didn’t seem to sway my thinking either way. 7:30 rolls around and I head back upstairs to take my seat and…
Yes, Double Vie does explore the life of a starving artist, a tale as old as time. But it takes a comedic route from the mouth of the artist herself. Sandrine Rastello recreates her career in an almost hyperbolic way. If you’ve ever met a theatre kid, you know that I’m being very realistic in my description. They’re always ready at the drop of a hat to recite their favorite lines and move their bodies in a way that makes you think “should the human body do that?”. Rastello uses comedy as a platform to create meta commentary about her time as a student to an amateur actor trying to make it in a cut throat industry; hence the name. Because becoming a serious artist takes a lot of hard work before you even get the chance to play into those stereotypes.
Not only that, but the play also uses theatrical elements to drive the point home. For example: audience participation and breaking the fourth wall. The play starts with Rastello miming behind a red curtain while testimonies from her actor friends fill the room. Then, she steps out to an audition where she gets told that she’s not convincing enough. After getting interrupted by the director for the third time, she talks to the audience about what it took to get here. How years of of classes didn’t prepare her for how hard it would be to become a professional actor. Nor did it give her clear indication of whether or not she’d “make it” to the big leagues. Yet, she still pushed forward, because making art, or creating in general, is something intrinsic that can’t be pushed down. Life, uhh, finds a way.
The play constantly goes back to this idea with more testimonies about the difference between an amateur and a professional, while playing theatre games. It’s a play for those who love theatre and want to hear more about the life of an actor beyond the success stories of those at a big theatre company.
