Director Robert Lepage Returns to BAM With The U.S. Premiere of LIPSYNCH 10/3-11

Canadian theater director/playwright/film director/actor Robert Lepage returns to BAM with the U.S. premiere of his latest epic theater work, Lipsynch. An 8 1/2-hour performance that spans 70 years and explores the voice as a compelling metaphor for human expression and interaction, the action journeys from war-torn Vienna and pre-revolutionary Nicaragua to contemporary London. Conjuring a panorama that connects nine lives through many decades, Lipsynch tracks a cluster of interwoven destinies where each voice searches for its own identity-from the precision of the dubbing studio to the world of voice forensics in criminal investigations. The narrative, co-authored by Lepage, Marie Gignac and the nine cast members, is structured in nine units-each focusing on a character from overlapping plots, ultimately connected in a moving climax.

The work's dazzling and fluid stagecraft features set-modules that combine and recombine in moments to form an airplane, a train, and the London Tube. A nightclub scene features separate segments of an onstage piano, harmoniously joined with the aid of back projection. Dual perspectives of a Quebec bookshop take us from an exterior vision of conversing figures to their actual words inside. The making of a film features breakaway sets to the filmmaker's off-set life. According to Variety, "Lepage's typically audacious fusion of versatile sets and projections allows him to telescope time and place with exhilarating theatrical economy."

Lipsynch may be seen in its entirety during weekend marathons on Oct 3, 4, 10, or 11 (with on-site meals available for purchase in advance). The production's three parts may also be seen on successive weeknights (Oct 6, 7, and 8).

Lipsynch
Ex Machina / Théâtre Sans Frontières
Directed by Robert Lepage

Written by Frédérike Bédard, Carlos Belda, Rebecca Blankenship, Lise Castonguay, John Cobb, Nuria Garcia, Marie Gignac, Sarah Kemp, Robert Lepage, Rick Miller, Hans Piesbergen

BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St)
Oct 3 at 1pm (parts A, B, and C)
Oct 4 at 1pm (parts A, B, and C)
Oct 6 at 7:30pm (part A)
Oct 7 at 7:30pm (part B)
Oct 8 at 7:30pm (part C)
Oct 10 at 1pm (parts A, B, and C)
Oct 11 at 1pm (parts A, B, and C)

Tickets: $45, 90, 120, 150 (for weekend marathon or for all three weekday parts)
718.636.4100 or BAM.org
Performed in multiple languages (including English, French, German, and Spanish) with English titles.

Artist Talk: Robert Lepage and John Ralston Saul on Cultural Identity
Oct 5 at 6:30pm
Hillman Attic Studio (30 Lafayette Ave)
Tickets: $10 ($5 for Friends of BAM)

Screening: Le Confessionnal (1995), directed by Robert Lepage
Oct 5 at 8:30pm
BAM Rose Cinemas