As Montreal’s Segal Centre Studio hosts the English-language premiere of How to Survive in the Wild, Rebecca Gibian finds herself at the centre of a daring theatrical venture. She has brought to life a new version of Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard’s French-language play, Manuel de la vie sauvage, a social satire set in the ruthless world of tech start-ups. This is the first English-language translation of any of the playwright’s work –- and Gibian not only translated the text, but is directing the production. And as she does, she is weaving her own personal experiences and insights into this timely show that examines ambition, ethics, and the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in our lives.
Translating a Montreal voice for a global stage
Even though this was Gibian’s first full play translation, she found the process of translating Manuel de la vie sauvage “remarkably effortless”, thanks to Baril Guérard’s writing. “Though it is ironic and nuanced and filled with slang, it has a distinctive voice to it that I hear really clearly in my own head,” she explains. Part of this ease stems from a shared cultural background, as she and Baril Guérard are both Montrealers of the same generation.
What resonated with her was the way “it’s effortless, yet direct – almost dangerous – but also really playful”. In her translation, she focused on conveying the spirit of the original text in a relatable, recognizable vernacular for English-speaking audiences. “It became less about translating word-for-word, and much more about translating ideas, expressions, even insults, into English equivalents that would feel not only natural, but equally funny – or equally brutal.”
As a millennial and a Montrealer, Gibian found herself in tune with the characters’ voices. She lacks personal experience in the start-up world, but in her view, “the play is more about putting on a show—it is couched within a sort of TedTalk conference structure”. So she connected most with the play first through a theatrical lens: “I found my own experiences as an actor and avid lover of, well, drama, were the most useful to me,” she smiled.
And though the play’s setting revolves around the tech start-up world—a fast-paced, competitive space that will be familiar to many young professionals—Gibian stresses that the play’s themes outpace this specific context. She likens it to popular television shows like Succession and Industry, or films like The Social Network – all of which use technology and business as vehicles to explore the darker side of ambition and success: “How to Survive in the Wild is a homegrown story from that same world”.
Navigating the ethical minefield of AI
One of the most striking elements of How to Survive in the Wild is its exploration of AI technology, specifically through an AI chatbot that allows users to communicate with the dead by drawing from their digital footprints. The premise itself raises profound ethical questions about the nature of connection, mortality, and privacy—questions that are more urgent than ever as AI becomes increasingly and indistinguishably integrated into our lives.
Gibian’s own thoughts on the ethical implications of the play’s central technology continue to evolve. “Honestly, I change my mind all the time,” she confesses. But as translator and director of the show, she is most interested in “hugging that line between right and wrong, without falling too strongly on either side.” After all, this ambivalence makes for good theatre – especially since “the text makes some really strong arguments on both sides of that ethical line.” It’s no surprise, then, to hear her say, “I hope the audience will waver, too!”
The AI technology depicted in the play felt like something out of Netflix’s dystopian show Black Mirror when Baril Guérard first wrote the novel. But in 2024, it has become all too real. “Even having ChatGPT at our fingertips puts the whole play into sharper focus,” Gibian notes. And though she leans towards saying she herself would not download an app purporting to enable communication with the dead, she is wary of “the part of me that craves connection when I’m home alone, that misses people that are far away from me…That late-night part of me just might.”
Chasing both thematic and artistic success
Gibian’s decision to cast up-and-coming local artists (Lula Brouillet-Lucian, Oumy Dembele, Juliette Diodati, Brian Dooley, Noah Labranche, and Jonathan Silver) aligns with the play’s themes and the mission of her company Persephone Productions: “The play is about success—about chasing it, failing at it, achieving it, and about what we are willing to sacrifice to get there. Its characters are practically all emerging entrepreneurs. And who better to understand that hunger and drive than emerging artists?”
The bilingualism of the cast was an unexpected but welcome surprise that has worked out perfectly. “Maybe I connect well with fellow bilingual artists, or maybe it was the bilingual artists who connected especially well with the material in auditions,” she muses. But in a city as diverse as Montreal, this casting choice adds another layer of authenticity to the performance.
For Gibian, working on How to Survive in the Wild has prompted deep reflections on the nature of success and the lengths people will go to achieve it – themes that have been central to rehearsals. “It can be easy to criticize that drive when it is couched in a different context,” she says, noting how openly admitting a desire to win in the theatre world can be “mal-vu”. But that ambition can also be a catalyst for greatness. And perhaps the antidote to complacency is a little bit more personal desire to win. “That nuance,” she purses her lips, “is exciting to me.”
That said, such lines blur, depending on whether we are considering what is good from a business perspective or from a human perspective. “Can you fault a CEO for saving his company?” she asks, before elaborating the play’s parallels with Succession and Richard III. If these works “taught us anything, it’s that it can also feel really good to see people make the ‘wrong’ choice, and put ‘winning’ first.” When these different types of “good” are all layered together, what emerges is “something far more nuanced, far more grey”– which is something Gibian has “been craving from theatre.”
Blurring the lines between performance and reality
Gibian is especially excited about the play’s direct address moments, where the audience is drawn directly into the characters’ high-stakes drive for success. “My hope is to really blend the worlds of a tech conference and a play. Because what is performance, really?” she smiles enigmatically.
As our interview draws to a close and I ask her for final thoughts, Gibian jumps into a powerful and eloquent direct address of her own, which immerses me in her urgent drive for success: “Above all, I’d take this opportunity to remind your readers what we are all about. Persephone Productions is dedicated to showcasing the talent of local emerging artists—and not just recent graduates, but anyone who identifies with this need to emerge. I started working for the company at a point in my life where I, too, still felt like an emerging artist. And what keeps me going is this desire to make Persephone Productions into the company I wish existed when I graduated. From the actors to designers and production team, I really think harnessing the power of that hunger to succeed – along with the taste and ambitions of emerging artists – is an under-tapped motor in the community.”
Circling back to How to Survive in the Wild, the quest for success is very much on her mind: “This is our most ambitious production to date, and I’m really excited – and, as we say in French, fébrile—to see it all come together. Maybe the antidote to that dark side of success is community, and teamwork. And I’m really excited about this team!”
How To Survive in The Wild is on stage until September 29, 2024 at Segal Centre in Montreal, Québec. Visit persephoneproductions.org to reserve tickets.
© Arpita Ghosal, SesayArts Magazine, 2024
