22–25 March ASB Theatre Aotea Centre
THE FAR SIDE OF THE MOON WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY ROBERT LEPAGE PERFORMED BY YVES JACQUES EX MACHINA
CREATIVE TEAM Written & Directed by Robert Lepage
Production Manager (Touring) Vanessa Landry-Claverie
Performed by Yves Jacques
Tour Manager Léa Touzé
Script Consultant Adam Nashman
Technical Director (Touring) Olivier Bourque
Artistic Collaborator & Project Originator Peder Bjurman
Stage Manager Francis Beaulieu
Assistant to the Director Pierre-Philippe Guay Original music composed and recorded by Laurie Anderson © 2000 Difficult Music (BMI)
Lighting Manager Félix Bernier-Guimond Sound Manager Stanislas Elie Video Manager Benoit Brunet-Poirier
Assistant Set Designer Marie-Claude Pelletier
Costume & Props Manager Isabel Poulin
Assistant Lighting Designer Bernard White
Stagehands Emmanuelle Nappert Jean-Félix Labrie
Costume Designer Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt Puppet Designers Pierre Robitaille Sylvie Courbron Puppeteer Éric Leblanc Set Consultant Carl Fillion Images produced by Jacques Collin Véronique Couturier Audio Editing Jean-Sébastien Côté Production Manager Louise Roussel Technical Coordinator Michel Gosselin Technical Director Dany Beaudoin
Set building Unissons Structures, Les Conceptions Visuelles Jean-Marc Cyr Host’s voice Normand Bissonnette Martine Rochon Additional music ‘Moonlight Sonata’ by Ludwig van Beethoven ‘Naima’ by John Coltrane ‘I Gaze at the Moon’ by Michael White ‘Space Dryer’ by Michael White Soviet space images The Ultimax Group, Inc. Director’s Agent Lynda Beaulieu Produced by Ex Machina
In co-production with Aarhus Festuge; Auckland Arts Festival; Festspillene i Bergen; Berliner Festspiele, Berlin; BITE:03, Barbican, London; Bonlieu scène nationale, Annecy; Cal Performances, University of California at Berkeley; Change Performing Arts, Milan; Cultural Industry Ltd., London; Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Hamburg; Dublin Theatre Festival; Espace Malraux Scène Nationale Chambéry-Savoie; Festival de Otono, Madrid; Festival Internacional Santiago A Mil; FIDENA, Bochum; Göteborg Dans & Teater Festival; Harbourfront Centre, Toronto; La Comète scène nationale de Châlons-enChampagne; La Coursive, scène nationale La Rochelle; Manège Maubeuge – Scène Nationale; Le Théâtre du Trident, Québec; Le Volcan Maison de la Culture, Le Havre; Les Cultures du Travail – Forbach 2000, Forbach; Le Maillon – Théâtre de Strasbourg; Les Célestins, Théâtre de Lyon; Les Halles de Schaerbeek, Bruxelles; Maison des Arts, Créteil; Northern Stage at Newcastle Playhouse; Onassis Cultural Center, Athens; Perth Festival; Pilar de Yzaguirre – Ysarca, Madrid; Schauspielhaus Zurich; Setagaya Public Theater, Tokyo; SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs, Vancouver; Steirischer Herbst, Graz; Tallinna Linnateater; Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre; Théâtre de Namur; Teatro Nacional São João, Porto; Théâtre d’Angoulême, Scène Nationale; Le Théâtre de la Ville – Paris; Théâtre de Sartrouville & des Yvelines; Theatre Royal Plymouth; Théâtre Sénart, scène nationale; The Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater, New York; The Irvine Barclay Operating Company; The Lowry, Salford Quays; The Royal National Theatre, London; The Sydney Festival; TNT-Théâtre National de Toulouse; Tramway Dark Lights, Glasgow; UC Davis Presents, Davis; Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff; Wiener Festwochen, Wien Associate Producer, Europe, Japan Epidemic (Richard Castelli, assisted by Chara Skiadelli, Florence Berthaud and Claire Dugot) Associate Producer, The Americas, Asia (except Japan), Australia, New Zealand Menno Plukker Theatre Agent (Menno Plukker, assisted by Sarah Rogers and Isaïe Richard) Photography David Leclerc (cover)
ex machina is funded by the canada council for the arts, quebec’s arts and literature council and the city of quebec. this production has been subsidised by the millennium arts fund of the canada council for the arts
with support from platinum patrons janet clarke & john judge
THE SHOW
2hrs no interval
“Before Galileo turned his telescope towards its surface, people believed the moon was a polished mirror, its dark scars and mysterious contours reflections of our own mountains and seas. Much later in the 20th century the Soviets launched a probe to circle the moon. When it returned images of the hidden face of the moon, the one we can never see from earth, we were shocked to learn that there existed a pounded and scored face of the moon, wounded by countless meteors and storms of celestial debris. For many years American scientists called this the disfigured side of the moon. Perhaps this was because the features that comprise the far-side of the moon bear the names of Soviet cosmonauts, poets, and inventors.”
the mysterious teachings the universe holds for those brave enough to look up to the stars and ponder. Time and place are secondary to Philippe’s search for meaning in the universe and his place in it.
So begins the epic story of Philippe, a man coping with the recent loss of his mother, the estrangement of his only sibling, his younger brother André; and
Also performed by Yves Jacques, The Far Side of the Moon premiered at Le Théâtre du Trident in Quebec City on February 29th, 2000, and has since been shown in over 45 cities all over the world.
The competition between the Soviets and Americans during the Space race, the SETI programme (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence), and memories from childhood and adolescence act as touchstones for this one-man show dealing with the fundamental question, “Are we alone?” Punctuated by Laurie Anderson’s otherworldly score, The Far Side of the Moon is a show which takes the audience to other worlds on the steady wings of Robert Lepage’s theatrical magic.
ARTIST’S NOTE After we probed it, mapped it and visited it, our interest in the moon diminished considerably. Already in the early 1970s, the last Apollo missions didn’t even make it to television. Still, even though the moon has lost a lot of its mystery, it has lost none of its poetic force.
I had been trying to push back that moment for a long time, but creating this new play left me no choice. The most difficult part for me was certainly when I realised that my younger years, which I believed to be a sunny time in my life, were more often than not set in moonlike colours – blues and greys.
By turning my attention towards certain moments of the space race, I was forced to revisit my childhood and an important part of my teenage years.
I hope that my clumsily disguised story can touch you and bring you a bit of lunar nostalgia. Robert Lepage, Director
BIOGRAPHIES
ROBERT LEPAGE
YVES JACQUES
LAURIE ANDERSON
Versatile in every form of theatre craft, Robert Lepage is equally talented as a director, 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. Among his most noticed work for the stage: Dragons’ Trilogy (1985), Needles and Opium (1991), The Far Side of the Moon (2000), The Andersen Project (2005), Lipsynch (2007), his solo performance 887 (2015) and his most recent production Quills (2016); his multimedia creations The Image Mill (2008) and The Library at Night (2015); and at the opera, The Damnation of Faust (1999), The Nightingale and Other Short Fables (2009), Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen (2010) and L’Amour de loin (2015).
His career led him from his native Quebec City to Montreal, then Paris where he’s been playing since, on stage as well as in movies. Working with French Canadian director Denis Arcand on five films including Decline of the American Empire, Jesus of Montreal and The Barbarian Invasions, along with French director Claude Miller with whom he worked on seven films including La Chambre des Magiciennes, La petite Lily and Voyez Comme ils Dansent, Jacques confirmed his talent, and his renown grew steadily in France and in Quebec. On stage, he has been touring worldwide for almost ten years with two Robert Lepage’s plays, The Far Side of the Moon (from 2001) and The Andersen Project (from 2007) in their French and English versions. His work with Lepage made Luc Bondy, the late Director of the Odéon Théâtre de l’Europe in Paris, to offer him to play alongside Isabelle Huppert in Marivaux’s Les Fausses Confidences (False Acquaintances).
Laurie Anderson is one of America’s most reknowned – and daring – creative pioneers. Known primarily for her multimedia presentations, she has cast herself in roles as varied as visual artist, composer, poet, photographer, filmmaker, electronics whiz, vocalist, and instrumentalist.
EX MACHINA In 1994, when Robert Lepage asked his collaborators to help find a name for his new company, he had one condition: the word theatre could not be part of the name. Ex Machina is thus a multidisciplinary company bringing together actors, writers, set designers, technicians, opera singers, puppeteers, computer graphic designers, video artists, contortionists and musicians. Ex Machina’s creative team believes that the performing arts – dance, opera, music – should be mixed with recorded arts – filmmaking, video art and multimedia. That there must be meetings between scientists and playwrights, between set painters and architects, and between artists from Québec and the rest of the world. New artistic forms will surely emerge from these gatherings. Ex Machina wants to rise to the challenge and become a laboratory, an incubator for a form of theatre that will reach and touch audiences from this new millennium.
A film inspired by the play was also produced for ARTE with the same director and cast. Other directors with whom Jacques has had the privilege to work include Xavier Dolan (Laurence Anyways), Jean-Paul Rappenneau (Belles Familles), Olivier Dahan (Grace of Monaco) and Martin Scorsese (The Aviator). Jacques was appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, in February 2001, and he is an Officer of the Order of Canada since 2009 for his achievements as an actor in theatre, television and film, in Canada and abroad.
‘O Superman’ launched Anderson’s recording career in 1980, rising to no. 2 on the British pop charts and subsequently appearing on Big Science, the first of her seven albums on the Warner Brothers label. Laurie Anderson’s visual work has been presented in major museums throughout the United States and Europe. In 2003, The Musée Art Contemporain of Lyon in France produced a touring retrospective of her work, entitled The Record of the Time: Sound in the Work of Laurie Anderson. This retrospective included installation, audio, instruments, video and art objects and spans Anderson’s career from the 1970s to her most current works. It continued to tour internationally from 2003 to 2005. As a composer, Anderson has contributed music to films by Wim Wenders and Jonathan Demme; dance pieces by Bill T. Jones, Trisha Brown, Molissa Fenley; and a score for Robert Lepage’s theatre production, The Far Side of the Moon. In 2002, she was appointed the first artist-in-residence of NASA which culminated in her 2004 touring solo performance “The End of the Moon”. In 2015 her first feature film, Heart of a Dog, inspired by the life and death of her terrier Lolabelle, and dedicated to her late husband, Lou Reed, was chosen as an official selection of the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. She lives and works in New York City.
photography: jocelyn michel (lepage); pierre dury (jacques); noah greenburg (anderson)
aaf.co.nz Auckland Arts Festival is a place for ambitious ideas by storytellers, provocateurs and creators. The Festival reflects our contemporary, cosmopolitan city with its many communities. It challenges artists and audiences to be bold and take a risk. Through the work of artists from Aotearoa and across the world, we aim to unify, uplift, enlighten and inspire the people of Tāmaki Makaurau and our many visitors. Taking place annually in March, 2018 marks the 10th Auckland Arts Festival. This year more than 200,000 people are expected to attend the Festival, which comprises more than 50 events taking place in all corners of the Auckland region and many of which are free.
CONTACT +64 (0)9 309 0101 info@aaf.co.nz Level 5, Wellesley Centre 44-52 Wellesley Street Auckland City 1010 PO Box 5419 Wellesley Street Auckland 1141, NZ
FESTIVAL PEOPLE Patron The Governor General, Her Excellency The Right Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy, GNZM, QSO Board of Trustees John Judge (Chair) Angela Clatworthy Rick Carlyon Evan Davies Sarah Judkins Tarun Kanji Margaret Kawharu MNZM Jim Moser Ben Taufua Fred Ward Founding Friends Adrian Burr Graeme Edwards Friedlander Foundation Dame Jenny Gibbs Sir Chris & Lady Dayle Mace Official Suppliers ABE’s Bagels Delmaine Fine Foods Mojo PwC Russell McVeagh
Chief Executive David Inns Artistic Director Jonathan Bielski Business & Finance Director Shona Roberts Accounts & Payroll Administrators Suzanne Watt Mirena Tomas Executive Assistant Josie Maskell Office Manager Donna Lynskey
Creative Learning & Community Engagement Assistant Natasha Lay Programme Administrator Helen Winskill Project Coordinator, Whānui Noma Sio-Faiumu Whānui Project Assistant Amo Ieriko Technical Manager Nick Tomlin Technical Administrator Catherine Hart
Head of Programming Dolina Wehipeihana
Artist Liaison & Logistics Manager Megan Andrews
Senior Programme Manager Tama Waipara
Artist Liaison Assistant Sophie Williams
Programme Manager Angela Green
Production Manager Vicki Cooksley
Programme Assistant Tanya Muagututi’a
Festival Playground Operations Managers Charlotte Crone Gareth Baston (Boris)
Producer’s Assistant Aroha Rawson Creative Learning & Community Engagement Manager Tracey Marama Lloydd
Head of Staging Andrew Gibson Head of Lighting Andrew Meadows
Head of Sound Sandy Gunn Head of AV Simon Baker Marketing & Communications Director Thierry Pannetier Marketing Contractor Sally Woodfield Content Editor Tim Wong Campaign Executive Alistair Kwun Media & PR Manager Siobhan Waterhouse Media & PR Assistant Josephine Granese Marketing Intern Ellie Tapsell Sponsorship Executive Jessie Congalton Sponsorship Assistant Gill Saker Designer Barny Bewick Ticketing Manager Karen Cartwright Ticketing Assistant Laura Aldis
AUCKLAND ARTS FESTIVAL CORE FUNDERS
GOLD SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS
BRONZE SPONSORS
CORPORATE PATRONS
THANK YOU
A STANDING OVATION FOR ALL THE FUNDERS, SPONSORS, PATRONS, AND SUPPORTERS WHOSE GENEROSITY LETS US BRING THE WORK OF GREAT ARTISTS TO THIS WONDERFUL CITY.
MAJOR FUNDERS
FUNDING PARTNERS The Clyde Graham Charitable Trust managed by
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS
PLATINUM PATRONS Janet Clarke and John Judge, Sir Roderick and Gillian, Lady Deane,
GOLD PATRONS
Andrew and Jenny Smith, Sir James Wallace (Wallace Foundation), Fran Wyborn
Bill and Frances Bell
SILVER PATRONS Julie and Brian Cadzow, Jeremy Collins, Christine and Richard Didsbury, Trevor and Jan Farmer, Friedlander Foundation, Kent and Gaye Gardner, Dame Jenny Gibbs, David Levene Foundation, Sir Chris and Lady Dayle Mace, Heather Simpson, Sonbol and Farzbod Taefi, Walker and Hall Trust BRONZE PATRONS John Barnett, John Billington QC,
JADE PATRONS Lisa Bates and Douglas Hawkins,
Rick and Jenny Carlyon, Rosslyn Caughey, Jo and John Chaplin,
John and Victoria Carter, Graham Cleary, Martin Cooper,
Mark and Angela Clatworthy, John and Jo Gow, Rochelle McLaren,
Amber Coulter and Andrew Lewis, Tarun Kanji,
Kate Plaw, Fran and Geoff Ricketts, Michelle and Will Rouse,
Jim Moser, Chris Simcock and Camilla Hope-Simcock,
Martin and Catherine Spencer, Lady Philippa Tait, Fred and Nicky Ward,
Angela Temata and Vanessa Morgan
Sally Woodfield and David Inns, William and Sarah Yates
Aotea Centre
In partnership with
1–25 March DAILY UNTIL LATE
FESTIVAL CLUB All roads at the Auckland Arts Festival lead back to the iHeartRadio FESTIVAL CLUB at the Aotea Centre, a hangout space and music stage for audiences, artists and the creative community to meet, mix and celebrate. Food and drink curated by ArtDego
FESTIVAL CLUB designed by Angus Muir
In the centre of the Aotea Arts Precinct, this comfortable and upbeat pop-up club is your place to gather before and after a show, grab a delicious meal from a bespoke menu, enjoy live music from instrumentalists and DJs, or unwind over the long summer nights with a special Festival cocktail.