American Conservatory Theater presents Needles and Opium, written and directed by Robert Lepage
A.C.T.'s Geary Theater
415 Geary St, San Francisco, CA 94102-1222 USA
8:00 PM, Friday, April 7, 2017

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[~7:05 PM lights down, announcements]
[show ends ~8:45 PM]

• Olivier Normand: as Robert and Jean Cocteau;
• Wellesley Robertson III: Miles Davis.

• Lionel Arnould: Images Designer;
• Jean-Sébastien Côté: Music and Sound Designer;
• Carl Fillion: Scenic Designer;
• Claudia Gendreau: Props Designer;
• Robert Lepage: director, dramaturg, playwright;
• Bruno Matte: Lighting Designer;
• Jenny Montgomery: English Translator;
• François St-Aubin: Costume Designer.

I've been going to see Robert LePage creations ever since attending the Far Side of the Moon in 2001. Even when I don't necessarily appreciate the show afterwards (as in tonight's work), I still find much to admire about his work. In this case, that begins with the imaginative staging: Needles and Opium is presented almost entirely within an open half-cube suspended in the air that twists and turns as the play moves along. I can't imagine how hard it was to figure out how to make things work in this context, where the observer's perception of up and down is constantly being flummoxed by the motion of the set. Every now and then it was obvious that the actors were restrained by safety harnesses, but much of the time they appeared to be moving freely around the set: walking or crawling from place to place as the entered and exited. Trap doors open to become windows, or to reveal wall beds and furniture, or those same doors close to provide a surface for a dizzying array of video projections.

I suppose that my lack of enthusiasm for this show is based on my lack of empathy for the main character, Robert. To me, he came across as whiny and self-absorbed rather than sympathetic. Similarly, without a word of dialog, it's also hard to identify much with the Miles Davis character. Which leaves us with the high-brow speeches of Cocteau that punctuate the play. If one accepts that this show is merely another of LePage's dreamscapes brought to life, then I'd say it was a successful meditation on heartache and love lost, but that's hardly a recipe for a happy ending!

You can see stills and more information about the production at the Ex Machina site.

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2017 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2017 event list! ☸ On to the next event!