Versatile in every form of theater craft, Robert Lepage is equally talented as a director, playwright, and actor with a creative and original approach that has shaken the dogma of classical stage direction to its foundations. He melds his creative vision with the legendary theater ensemble Le Théâtre du Soleil, marking the first time that its founder Ariane Mnouchkine has invited an outside director to work with her troupe, for an epic new work commissioned by the Armory that explores the treatment of the indigenous people of Canada.

This monumental theater piece takes audiences on a moving journey through unexpected and sometimes somber episodes of Canadian history from the beginning of the 19th century to modern times as told through an artistic lens. The large-scale trilogy examines the Huron tribe and their interactions with famed Shakespearean actor Edward Kean as documented in paintings from that time period, the nearly 150,000 children of the native Canadian community that were assimilated in “Indian Residential schools” shown through the eyes of a documentary photographer, and indigenous women that have disappeared or been murdered around Vancouver’s notorious Eastside and the artistic responses that have attempted to bring their faces and identities back into focus. The resulting series of vignettes combine deeply personal stories and collective memory to find a shared humanity.

Co-commission by Park Avenue Armory, Ex Machina, and Le Théâtre du Soleil

Robert Lepage, Director
Théâtre du Soleil / Ex Machina

Michel Nadeau, Dramaturg
Steve Blanchet, Creative Director and Design
Lucile Cocito, Assistant Director
Ariane Sauvé, Set Designer
Lucie Bazzo, Lighting Designer
David Leclerc, Image Designer
Marie-Hélène Bouvet, Costumes