The Andersen Project, Ex Machina March 15, 2012

Full details at http://www.ums.org/s_current_season/artist.asp?pageid=686
Filled to the brim with his trademark humor and visual and technological brilliance, this off-the-wall masterpiece by Canadian theater visionary Robert Lepage stars Yves Jacques (Far Side of the Moon) in a one-man tour-de-force about a Canadian writer from the rock-and-roll milieu who is unexpectedly commissioned by the Opera Garnier in Paris to write a libretto for a children’s opera. Arriving in Paris, he finds that his living quarters for the next three months, which he acquired through an apartment swap with a friend, are in a building that is also home to a peep show in the city’s red light district. Freely inspired by the timeless fables written by Hans Christian Andersen who, as it turns out, didn’t really like children, as well as anecdotes from his personal diaries, The Andersen Project keenly explores unraveling relationships, personal demons, the thirst for recognition, and compromise that comes too late. The piece was commissioned by the Danish government in 2005 to mark the bicentennial of the birth of that country’s most beloved writer. “A theatrical conjurer, whose dazzling shows have captivated audiences around the world with their mixture of storytelling and stunning imagery." (Guardian, London, on Robert Lepage)

Content appropriate for mature audiences only. Performed in English and French (with projected titles). A strobe light is used in this performance.