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Ex Machina/Robert Lepage: Needles and Opium
Thursday, March 16, 2017 - Saturday, March 18, 2017
Spotlight on Directors Theater
World-renowned writer/director Robert Lepage revisits his riveting work in a highly visual staging that is as much magic as it is theater. Experience an exploration of creativity, love, addiction, and withdrawal through three artists' stories.
About
"DAZZLING VISUAL SEQUENCES… WILDLY IMAGINATIVE"
--The Boston Globe
Needles and Opium
One of Canada's most exciting theatrical visionaries, Robert Lepage and his Ex Machina performance company present a reimagined version of his acclaimed Needles and Opium, a cinematic exploration of art, love, and addiction that is as relevant now as when it premiered in 1991. Lepage writes and directs a fictional story triggered by the art of French poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau and American jazz artist Miles Davis, coincidently crossing the Atlantic Ocean in 1949, visiting each other's cities.
Through a hypnotic series of vignettes set in a cube suspended in midair, characters played by Oliver Normand and Wellesley Robertson III tumble from the boulevards of Paris to the back alleys of New York in this fascinating examination of how the echoes of history affect our daily struggles. With music, theater, acrobatics, and Lepage's signature visual aesthetic, this noir-drenched examination of the soul turns heartbreak into art.
Recommended for age 14 and up.
Performance Timing: Approximately 95 minutes, with no intermission.
--The Boston Globe
Needles and Opium
One of Canada's most exciting theatrical visionaries, Robert Lepage and his Ex Machina performance company present a reimagined version of his acclaimed Needles and Opium, a cinematic exploration of art, love, and addiction that is as relevant now as when it premiered in 1991. Lepage writes and directs a fictional story triggered by the art of French poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau and American jazz artist Miles Davis, coincidently crossing the Atlantic Ocean in 1949, visiting each other's cities.
Through a hypnotic series of vignettes set in a cube suspended in midair, characters played by Oliver Normand and Wellesley Robertson III tumble from the boulevards of Paris to the back alleys of New York in this fascinating examination of how the echoes of history affect our daily struggles. With music, theater, acrobatics, and Lepage's signature visual aesthetic, this noir-drenched examination of the soul turns heartbreak into art.
Recommended for age 14 and up.
Performance Timing: Approximately 95 minutes, with no intermission.
Watch and Listen
Needles and Opium Trailer
Laura Pels Foundation
Additional support for International Theater is provided by theLaura Pels International Foundation for Theater
KCICA
International Programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.HRH Foundation
International Theater is underwritten by
HRH Foundation