22–25 March ASB Theatre Aotea Centre THE FAR SIDE OF THE MOON WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY ROBERT LEPAGE PERFORMED BY YVES JACQUES EX MACHINA CREATIVE TEAM THE SHOW 2hrs no interval Written & Directed by Production Manager (Touring) In co-production with “Before Galileo turned his telescope the mysterious teachings the universe Robert Lepage Vanessa Landry-Claverie Aarhus Festuge; Auckland Arts Festival; Festspillene i Bergen; Berliner Festspiele, towards its surface, people believed the holds for those brave enough to look up Performed by Tour Manager Berlin; BITE:03, Barbican, London; Bonlieu Yves Jacques Léa Touzé scène nationale, Annecy; Cal Performances, moon was a polished mirror, its dark scars to the stars and ponder. Time and place University of California at Berkeley; Change and mysterious contours reflections of our are secondary to Philippe’s search for Script Consultant Technical Director (Touring) Performing Arts, Milan; Cultural Industry Ltd., Adam Nashman Olivier Bourque London; Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Hamburg; own mountains and seas. Much later in meaning in the universe and his place in it. Artistic Collaborator Stage Manager Dublin Theatre Festival; Espace Malraux the 20th century the Soviets launched a & Project Originator Francis Beaulieu Scène Nationale Chambéry-Savoie; Festival de probe to circle the moon. When it returned The competition between the Soviets Peder Bjurman Otono, Madrid; Festival Internacional Santiago and Americans during the Space race, Lighting Manager A Mil; FIDENA, Bochum; Göteborg Dans & images of the hidden face of the moon, Teater Festival; Harbourfront Centre, Toronto; Assistant to the Director Félix Bernier-Guimond the one we can never see from earth, the SETI programme (Search for Extra- Pierre-Philippe Guay La Comète scène nationale de Châlons-en- Sound Manager Champagne; La Coursive, scène nationale La we were shocked to learn that there Terrestrial Intelligence), and memories Original music composed Stanislas Elie Rochelle; Manège Maubeuge – Scène Nationale; from childhood and adolescence act as and recorded by Le Théâtre du Trident, Québec; Le Volcan Maison existed a pounded and scored face of the Laurie Anderson Video Manager de la Culture, Le Havre; Les Cultures du Travail moon, wounded by countless meteors touchstones for this one-man show dealing © 2000 Difficult Music (BMI) Benoit Brunet-Poirier – Forbach 2000, Forbach; Le Maillon – Théâtre with the fundamental question, “Are we de Strasbourg; Les Célestins, Théâtre de Lyon; and storms of celestial debris. For many Costume & Props Manager Assistant Set Designer Les Halles de Schaerbeek, Bruxelles; Maison years American scientists called this the alone?” Punctuated by Laurie Anderson’s Marie-Claude Pelletier Isabel Poulin des Arts, Créteil; Northern Stage at Newcastle disfigured side of the moon. Perhaps this otherworldly score, The Far Side of the Stagehands Playhouse; Onassis Cultural Center, Athens; Assistant Lighting Designer Perth Festival; Pilar de Yzaguirre – Ysarca, Moon is a show which takes the audience Bernard White Emmanuelle Nappert was because the features that comprise Jean-Félix Labrie Madrid; Schauspielhaus Zurich; Setagaya Public to other worlds on the steady wings of Theater, Tokyo; SFU Woodward’s Cultural the far-side of the moon bear the names of Costume Designer Robert Lepage’s theatrical magic. Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt Set building Programs, Vancouver; Steirischer Herbst, Graz; Soviet cosmonauts, poets, and inventors.” Unissons Structures, Tallinna Linnateater; Tbilisi International Festival Puppet Designers Les Conceptions Visuelles of Theatre; Théâtre de Namur; Teatro Nacional Also performed by Yves Jacques, The Far Pierre Robitaille Jean-Marc Cyr São João, Porto; Théâtre d’Angoulême, Scène So begins the epic story of Philippe, a Sylvie Courbron Nationale; Le Théâtre de la Ville – Paris; Théâtre man coping with the recent loss of his Side of the Moon premiered at Le Théâtre Host’s voice de Sartrouville & des Yvelines; Theatre Royal du Trident in Quebec City on February Puppeteer Normand Bissonnette Plymouth; Théâtre Sénart, scène nationale; mother, the estrangement of his only Éric Leblanc Martine Rochon The Henson International Festival of Puppet 29th, 2000, and has since been shown in Theater, New York; The Irvine Barclay Operating sibling, his younger brother André; and Set Consultant Additional music Company; The Lowry, Salford Quays; The Royal over 45 cities all over the world. Carl Fillion ‘Moonlight Sonata’ National Theatre, London; The Sydney Festival; by Ludwig van Beethoven TNT-Théâtre National de Toulouse; Tramway Images produced by Dark Lights, Glasgow; UC Davis Presents, Jacques Collin ‘Naima’ ARTIST’S NOTE by John Coltrane Davis; Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff; Wiener Véronique Couturier Festwochen, Wien ‘I Gaze at the Moon’ Audio Editing by Michael White Associate Producer, Europe, Japan After we probed it, mapped it and visited I had been trying to push back that moment Jean-Sébastien Côté ‘Space Dryer’ Epidemic (Richard Castelli, assisted by Chara by Michael White Production Manager Skiadelli, Florence Berthaud and Claire Dugot) it, our interest in the moon diminished for a long time, but creating this new play left Louise Roussel Soviet space images Associate Producer, The Americas, Asia considerably. Already in the early 1970s, me no choice. The most difficult part for me The Ultimax Group, Inc. Technical Coordinator (except Japan), Australia, New Zealand the last Apollo missions didn’t even was certainly when I realised that my younger Michel Gosselin Menno Plukker Theatre Agent (Menno Plukker, Director’s Agent assisted by Sarah Rogers and Isaïe Richard) make it to television. Still, even though years, which I believed to be a sunny time in Lynda Beaulieu Technical Director the moon has lost a lot of its mystery, it my life, were more often than not set in moon- Dany Beaudoin Photography Produced by David Leclerc (cover) has lost none of its poetic force. like colours – blues and greys. Ex Machina By turning my attention towards certain I hope that my clumsily disguised story can EX MACHINA IS FUNDED BY THE CANADA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS, WITH SUPPORT FROM moments of the space race, I was touch you and bring you a bit of lunar nostalgia. QUEBEC’S ARTS AND LITERATURE COUNCIL AND THE CITY OF QUEBEC. PLATINUM PATRONS THIS PRODUCTION HAS BEEN SUBSIDISED BY THE MILLENNIUM ARTS FUND JANET CLARKE forced to revisit my childhood and an Robert Lepage, Director OF THE CANADA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS & JOHN JUDGE important part of my teenage years. BIOGRAPHIES aaf.co.nz Auckland Arts Festival is a place for ambitious ideas by storytellers, CONTACT provocateurs and creators. +64 (0)9 309 0101 The Festival reflects our contemporary, cosmopolitan city with its many communities. [email protected] It challenges artists and audiences to be bold and take a risk. Through the work of Level 5, Wellesley Centre artists from Aotearoa and across the world, we aim to unify, uplift, enlighten and ROBERT LEPAGE YVES JACQUES LAURIE ANDERSON 44-52 Wellesley Street inspire the people of T¯amaki Makaurau and our many visitors. Auckland City 1010 Versatile in every form of theatre craft, His career led him from his native Laurie Anderson is one of America’s Robert Lepage is equally talented as Quebec City to Montreal, then Paris most reknowned – and daring – Taking place annually in March, 2018 marks the 10th Auckland Arts Festival. PO Box 5419 a director, playwright, actor and film where he’s been playing since, on creative pioneers. Known primarily for This year more than 200,000 people are expected to attend the Festival, which Wellesley Street director. His creative and original stage as well as in movies. Working her multimedia presentations, she has comprises more than 50 events taking place in all corners of the Auckland region Auckland 1141, NZ approach to theatre has won him with French Canadian director cast herself in roles as varied as visual international acclaim and shaken the Denis Arcand on five films including artist, composer, poet, photographer, and many of which are free. dogma of classical stage direction Decline of the American Empire, filmmaker, electronics whiz, vocalist, to its foundations, especially through Jesus of Montreal and The Barbarian and instrumentalist. his use of new technologies. Among Invasions, along with French his most noticed work for the stage: director Claude Miller with whom ‘O Superman’ launched Anderson’s Dragons’ Trilogy (1985), Needles and he worked on seven films including recording career in 1980, rising FESTIVAL PEOPLE Opium (1991), The Far Side of the Moon La Chambre des Magiciennes, La to no. 2 on the British pop charts (2000), The Andersen Project (2005), petite Lily and Voyez Comme ils and subsequently appearing on Big Lipsynch (2007), his solo performance Dansent, Jacques confirmed his Science, the first of her seven albums Patron Chief Executive Creative Learning & Head of Sound The Governor General, David Inns Community Engagement Sandy Gunn 887 (2015) and his most recent talent, and his renown grew steadily on the Warner Brothers label. Her Excellency Assistant production Quills (2016); his multimedia in France and in Quebec. On stage, The Right Honourable Artistic Director Natasha Lay Head of AV creations The Image Mill (2008) and he has been touring worldwide for Laurie Anderson’s visual work has Dame Patsy Reddy, Jonathan Bielski Simon Baker The Library at Night (2015); and at the almost ten years with two Robert been presented in major museums