Robert Lepage to Return to Canadian Stage with NEEDLES AND OPIUM, 11/22-12/1

20 years after its first production, Canadian visionary Robert Lepage revisits his breakout show, Needles and Opium, creating a new production that will receive its English-language premiere with Canadian Stage from November 22 to December 1 at the Bluma Appel Theatre (27 Front St. E). Starring Marc Labrèche reprising his leading role, with Wellesley Robertson III joining him on stage bringing a second character to life, the production features new scenography with original images combined through highly visual staging that is as much magic as it is theatre. "Needles and Opium was one of the first productions to set Robert Lepage on the world scene with his unparalleled capacity to use the most ingenious of theatrical technologies to deepen the emotional voyage played out on stage," said Matthew Jocelyn, artistic and general director, Canadian Stage. "Taking advantage of more sophisticated projection and technological savoir-faire, Lepage has chosen this piece above all others as the work he wants to revisit for today's audiences. After the success of 2010's The Andersen Project, we couldn't be more excited to bring Lepage and Ex Machina back to Canadian Stage."

The iconic play, written and directed by Lepage, is tale of displacement, passionate love and loss, drug addiction, and the creative drive that sets American jazz musician MiLes Davis during his stay in Paris in 1949 side by side with French poet Jean Cocteau as he travelled to America in the same year. Cocteau writes his Lettre aux Américains in which fascination and disenchantment intertwine; he has just discovered New York, where he presented his most recent feature film, L'Aigle à deux têtes. At the same time, Davis is visiting Paris for the first time, bringing bebop with him to the old continent. Forty years later, at the Hotel La Louisiane in Paris, a lonely Québécois tries in vain to forget his former lover. His emotional torments echo Cocteau's dependence on opium and Davis' on heroin through a spectacular withdrawal experience presented as a hypnotic series of fictional vignettes. The fascinating, introspective show, which received rave reviews after its sold-out French-language debut in Quebec earlier this fall, uses technical wizardry to share a true emotional journey.

Originally presented in 1991 in French, Needles and Opium (Les Aiguilles et l'opium) was Lepage's second major solo production. He performed in the show for its first three years, touring throughout Canada, the U.S. and much of Europe and the U.K. Labrèche then took over the role and further toured with the production, working with another performer who served as a body double in order to enable a series of quick changes and visual tricks. The presence of a second performer is an innovation of the 2013 revival. Lepage's work has been celebrated in Canada and around the world, with noted productions including Lipsynch (and recent film adaptation Triptych that premiered this year at the Toronto International Film Festival), Playing Cards, Eonnagata, The Blue Dragon, The Andersen Project, The Far Side of the Moon, and many more.

Canadian Stage will offer a series of free pre-show talks as well as post-show talkbacks held before and after select performances, with Lepage speaking to audiences on November 23 at 7 p.m. about the production in a chat facilitated by Jocelyn. An interactive childcare program, facilitated by Improv Care, will offered at the theatre during the November 24 matinee (pre-registration required) and on November 29 at 7:15 p.m., author and educator Karen Fricker will discuss Lepage's creative process and the cinematic qualities of Needles and Opium. For a schedule and more details visit: https://www.canadianstage.com/online/needles.

Needles and Opium will be on stage at the Bluma Appel Theatre in the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts (27 Front St. E.). Performances run Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. with matinees on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. The performance is approximately 105 minutes with no intermission. Tickets from $24 to $99 are available online, by phone at 416.368.3110 or in person at the box office. For details visit www.canadianstage.com.

Photo by Nicola-Frank Vachon