Updated yesterday at 7:00am.
Who am I ?
A shy boy who constantly hides behind the group and the shared adventure so as not to attract too much attention. An artist lost in repertoire, lighting fires everywhere and then struggling to put them out. An irresponsible leader who misleads his employees on poorly lit paths.
The most surprising thing you’ve done for love?
Forget who I was Putting another person first, to the point where I have to give up my personality, my opinions, my tastes, my sense of humor to become just a shadow of myself. And all this… out of love.
What is your demon tormenting your conscience?
Never being able to say things as they really are. A handicap that is sometimes perceived by others as hypocrisy or dishonesty. It’s true that I’m always afraid of hurting certain people or hurting certain sensibilities. However, too often I am surrounded by well-meaning people who pride themselves on being honest and always telling the truth when they prove unable to hear it, that truth.
A philosopher or author who has accompanied you for a long time?
Bertolt Brecht. One of the greatest playwrights and theorists of the 20th century. He defended the socialist utopia with a beautiful rigorous dialectic. Of course he was full of contradictions, pretentious, opportunistic … but what a poet! He leaves us a legacy of an enlightened view of the world and a body of work to appropriate, adapt, plunder or tear to pieces, as he did so well with the great authors who have gone before.
The perfect place (or state of mind) in your opinion?
When professional problems combine with private worries to create hectic chaos, I flee into erotic fantasies. These fantasies are heights of relaxation and creativity and not only affect my brain but seem to stabilize my entire system. During the most difficult days of their hibernation, haven’t the peoples of the north developed a teeming repertoire of erotic stories that are in no way inferior to the fairy tales of the Arabian Nights?
As Doug Wright has the Marquis de Sade say, “If God had not wanted me to use my imagination, he would not have given me two willing hands. I write about one and leave the other free to enjoy the fruits of the first!”
Robert Lepage
A recurring dream (or nightmare)?
A few days before a premiere night or in the week leading up to the completion of a project, I systematically dream that I’m on board an airplane in full flight; sometimes as a passenger, but more often as a commander. Obviously, the size of the cabin is often proportional to that of the projects and the flights are always precarious, full of turbulence. That the device stays in the air is nothing short of a miracle. Most of the time the plane lands safely on the tarmac, but a few times I’ve had to endure the vagaries of a reckless landing.
What other job would you like to have done?
Professor of geography, or at least a cartographer. By the age of 6 I already knew the names of all Canadian territories and provinces and their capitals. I could spend hours looking at giant world maps that explain the divisions of the world. Of course I had to wait for the first trips abroad to understand why the world was so divided. When the great photographer Nadar climbed into a hot air balloon for the first time in the 19th century, he was surprised to see that from the air there seemed to be no borders, giving the illusion of peaceful coexistence between peoples. .
What annoys you in life?
Ignorance. She is the cause of all evil. It breeds fear, racism, fascism. It is often taught from early school and sustained by hateful political speeches by ignorant men. But it’s hard to completely eradicate it from our lives because ignorance is so comfortable.
A nice death, as you think…
I don’t have an ounce of suicidal thoughts in me, but I confess that I would rather choose my death than let it surprise me. It’s too important a moment to live fully. Morbid? No not at all.
Complete. If god exists…
… maybe he should make himself heard. It would silence the fools who always put words in his mouth.
This Sunday at 1:30 p.m., Robert Lepage will be attending the Le Diamant benefit event in Quebec City. The Ex Machina show will be on from October 19th to November 19th at Le Diamant. All tickets are on sale for performances at the Duceppe in Montreal through June 11th.