(photo credit: Erick Labbé)
Ex Machinery
When the technical buries the emotional
by Beat Rice
Robert Lepage is known as one of Canada’s leading theatre artists; one who never fails to disappoint - at least visually. He continues to stun audiences with elaborate production values and creative use of new projection technologies. The Blue Dragon is a story based on a graphic novel by Lepage and Marie Michaud. It follows three characters: Pierre (played by Henri Chassé) an artist who has moved from Quebec to China and has made it is home for the last 15 years; Xiao Ling (Tai Wei Foo), a young Chinese artist who is Pierre’s lover; and Claire, (Marie Michaud) who is a woman from Quebec who once was Pierre’s lover, and who comes to China to rekindle their friendship and also adopt a baby.
Lepage and set designer Michel Gauthier use the space in such a way that it is like viewing a graphic novel, with scenes happening in squares and use of horizontal and vertical lines dividing the space. There was a cinematic sense to it that was very interesting.
I am now done saying everything I liked about The Blue Dragon.
