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TWENTY YEARS LATER Québécois director Robert Lepage's characters are often travellers drawn to the revealing encounter with the other, the exotic, the unknown. Yet in all the stories Lepage has told through opera, film, or theatre, only one of his characters has ever gone away for good— Pierre Lamontagne, the central figure in The Dragons'Trilogy, who departs as the play closes to study art in China. Twenty years later, Lamontagne resurfaces in Shanghai's Moganshan 50, a former industrial complex converted into an arts centre, now the heart of the contemporary Chinese art scene. Here he meets Claire Forêt, a Montreal ad executive, arrives for a visit to rekindle their friendship and adopt a Chinese baby. Claire, who had known Pierre in another life at art school, casts a decidedly western eye on his current existence. Through the shock of their rediscovery and confrontation, their common past opens an unexpected door to the future for both. Enter Xiao Ling, a Chinese artist exhibiting at Pierre's gallery. As she faces wrenching choices, the young woman awakens hopes long buried in Claire. In the effervescent paradox that is modern China, the collision of these three characters brings about fundamental changes for each. Co-written by Robert Lepage, winner of the 2007 Europe Theatre Prize, and his collaborator Marie Michaud (who also co-authored The Dragons'Trilogy), The Blue Dragon bears all the hallmarks of Lepage's original, brilliant, and highly visual style. As always, Lepage relies on the one inexhaustible resource the theatre possesses—the audience's intelligence. From Autumn 2009, the piece will be played by Marie Michaud, Henri Chassé and dancer Tai Wei Foo.

ROBERT LEPAGE

Versatile in every form of theatre craft, Robert Lepage is equally talented as a director, scenic artist, playwright, actor and film director. His creative and original approach to theatre has won him international acclaim and shaken the dogma of classical stage direction to its foundations, especially through his use of new technologies. Contemporary history is his source of inspiration, and his modern and unusual work transcends all boundaries. Robert Lepage was born in Quebec in 1957. He took an early interest in geography, and when he later discovered all art forms, theatre caught his particular attention. He entered the Conservatoire d'art dramatique de Québec in 1975 at the age of 17. After a study period in Paris in 1978 he returned to Quebec and became involved in many creative projects, gaining experience as actor, author and director. Two years later he joined the Théâtre Repere. In 1984, his play Circulations toured Canada and received Best Canadian Production award at the Quinzaine Internationale de Théâtre de Québec. The next year The Dragon's'Trilogy gained him an international reputation, quickly followed by Vinci (1986), Polygraph (1987) and Tectonic Plates (1988). In 1988 he formed his own professional management company, Robert Lepage Inc. (RLi). From 1989 to 1993 he was Artistic Director of the Théâtre français at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Meanwhile pursuing his own creative projects, he directed Needles and Opium (1991-1993/1994-1996), Coriolanus, Macbeth, and The Tempest (1992-1994). With A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1992 he became the first North American to direct a Shakespeare play at the Royal National Theatre in London. A turning point in his career came with the founding of his multidisci-

ROBERT LEPAŽ/ ROBERT LEPAGE

THE BLUE DRAGON