I just got back from the Canadian English-language premiere of Robert Lepage's play The Blue Dragon (I had seen the original French version Le dragon bleu a couple weeks ago with the same cast).
The Blue Dragon is a testament to why writer, director and actor Robert Lepage is a master of the theatre arts. His play is deep, layered with symbolism, abounding with spectacular stage technology yet also features an engaging and deeply human story.
The story follows his character Pierre Lamontagne from a previous play (The Dragons’ Trilogy) after he moves from Quebec to Shanghai, China. Pierre meets up with Claire; a friend from back home who has come to China to adopt a baby. Both characters are at a crossroads in their lives and the play explores the nature of their relationship within the broader context of the rapid commercialization and Westernization of China. It is definitely high-brow but the wit and humour in the dialogue as well as the relatable characters keep it accessible.
I love how Lepage’s theatrical productions are so visual and cinematic. The play is paced and edited like a movie, there's a musical score, visual montages, and title sequences.
The set-design is dazzling; employing a mechanized two-tier stage with a variety of moving conveyors that morphs into places as diverse as a loft, a nightclub, a subway station and an airport. There is a staggering amount of technology and the number of automation cues must be mind-boggling but the technology is used to accentuate the cinematic quality of the show; it allows for smooth scene transitions and works to complement the storytelling without upstaging it.
I'm also impressed that Lepage is able to convincingly converse in Mandarin with one of the Chinese actors, it must have taken him quite a while to learn all those lines phonetically! Luckily, surtitles are projected onto the set during those brief exchanges for us non-Mandarin speakers.
As with all Lepage plays, The Blue Dragon really defies description other than to say it was a stunning piece of theatre that I highly recommend anyone go see if they get the chance.
