PERFORMANCE

Rick, the sixth backstreet boi

Rick, the sixth backstreet boi, is a mushroom, an oyster mushroom, in fact. He escaped the greenhouse where he was conceived to seek out a special sauce recipe, one that would best reveal his delicate, slightly licorice-y voice.

Rick is an ear that cries underneath the willow trees. Seeking a new group with which he could sing, he invites us to think humbly about the industrialization of musical mycology, and about the ways in which we can create a world that is hospitable for all.

In his quest, Rick wants to meet living archives, like Sonia Benezra, a woman who, through interviews with mycological celebrities, has been able to thwart our scandal-oriented monoculture and to rehumanize ‘objects’ constructed through the commodification of folklore. 

Stretching his foot towards other worlds, the little boi imagines that his road to recovery will inspire other living beings to sprout magnifically on the compost of their childhoods. 

Sonia Benezra

Aptly nicknamed “Quebec’s Oprah,” Sonia Benezra has demonstrated throughout her career that talent and professionalism transcend age, language, and culture.

An excellent communicator and outstanding host, Sonia is renowned for the quality of her interviews. Her mastery of several languages, her warm personality, and her gift for quickly establishing trust, have led some of the biggest names on the scene to open up to her. She has interviewed the Backstreet Boys, Paul McCartney, Sting, Tina Turner, Céline Dion, and Al Pacino, to name but a few.

Sonia’s versatility has taken her from animation, to theater, to song, to designing a clothing line. Her career has been crowned with numerous awards. She has received three Gémeaux and four Métrostar awards. She was the first BIPOC woman to receive the “Personality of the Year” award, underscoring how loved she is by the public.