A great theatre-maker at the peak of his powers. – The Telegraph.

Courville réussit à mélanger Pink Floyd, Batman et élection du Parti Québécois, le tout dans un spectacle d’une durée de 2 h 15 qui ne s’essouffle pas. Robert Lepage prouve encore une fois qu’il fait du théâtre à un autre niveau. – Radio-Canada

In 1975, Simon is 17 years old. He has his own room in the basement of a pavilion in Courville, a widowed mother mixed up with a shifty uncle, an involuntary and painfully permanent tattoo on his chest, a female friend who woos him without much success and a male friend who is as clueless as he is athletic. The coming year will precipitate things, the social unrest that is gradually taking place will find dramatic and decisive echoes in the life of the young man. Inspired by Japanese culture, Robert Lepage sketches the portrait of a complex adolescence and borrows from the ancestral technique of Japanese Bunraku. He creates a spellbound story inside a piece of history.

Ex Machina

Founded in 1994, Ex Machina is a multidisciplinary company bringing together actors, writers, set designers, puppeteers, contortionists and musicians. The creative team of Ex Machina believes that the performing arts - dance, opera, music - should be mixed with recorded arts - filmmaking, video art and multimedia with new artistic forms emerging from the diverse gatherings. Ex Machina wants to rise to the challenge and become an incubator for a form of theatre that will reach and touch audiences from this new millennium.

Text, Design & Director／Robert Lepage

Design and Creative Director／Steve Blanchet

Assistant Director & Stage Manager／Francis Beaulieu

Performer／Olivier Normand

Puppeteers／Marie-Claude Labrecque, Wellesley Robertson III, Martin Vaillancourt

Associate Set Design／Ariane Sauvé

Puppet Design & Building／Jean-Guy White, Céline White

Composer & Sound Design／Mathieu Doyon

Image Design／Félix Fradet-Faguy

Lighting Design／Nicolas Descôteaux

Costume Design／Virginie Leclerc

Properties Design／Jeanne Lapierre

Production Manager／Marie-Pierre Gagné

Technical Director – Creation／Olivier Bourque, Catherine Guay

Production Assistant／Véronique St-Jacques

Stage Manager – Creation／Christian Garon

Artistic Consultant – Puppeteers／Martin Genest

Special effects – Makeup／Élène Pearson

Wig – Narrator／Richard Hansen

Tour Manager／Marylise Gagnon

Technical Director – Touring／Olivier Bourque

Head Stagehand／Jean-Félix Labrie

Lighting Manager／Benoît Brunet-Poirier

Video Manager／Maxime Painchaud

Sound Manager／Stanislas Élie

Puppets, Costume & Props Manager／Emilie Potvin, Carol Ann Charette

Set building／Astuce Décors, Conception Alain Gagné, Unisson

Scenic painting／Amélie Trépanier

Set building collaborators／Geneviève Bournival, Anne Marie Bureau, Carol Ann Charette, Marianne Ferland Dutil, Maude Groleau, Cécile Lefebvre, Mariana Manzano, Marie McNicoll, Luce Pelletier, Noemie Richard, Émily Wahlman

Additional images Design／Martin Paré, Maxim Boisseau

Costume building／Par Apparat confection créative

Puppet building collaborators／Carole White, Camille McMillan, Hélène Renaud, Annabelle Roy, Isabelle Frenette

Music copyright clearance／Delphine Saint-Marcoux, La Négo

Director's Agent／Lynda Beaulieu

Acknowledgments ／Claire Bourque, Frédéric Desroches, Dr Michel Labrecque, Richard Loiselle

Additional music

Lifted (Scott) - Performed by Jools Scott

©Publishing by Strung Out Songs ℗Long Tale Recordings

Sonar (Scott) - Performed by Jools Scott

©Publishing by Strung Out Songs ℗Long Tale Recordings

Cave Under the Sofa (Scott) - Performed by Jools Scott                      

©Publishing by Strung Out Songs ℗Long Tale Recordings

Aspirations (Gentle Giant: Kerry Churchill Minnear, Derek Victor Shulman, Raymond Shulman)

© Alucard Pubg Ltd ℗ WWA Records, 1974

Child in time (Deep Purple: Richard Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Anderson Paice)

© Henrees Music Co, EMI Blackwood Music Canada LTD ℗ Parlophone Records, 1970

Starless (King Crimson: William Scott Bruford, David Francis Cross, Robert Fripp, John Kenneth Wetton)

© EMI United Partnership Ltd, Unart Music Ltd, EMI Backwood Music Canada, Universal Music MGB Limited, Universal Music Publishing Canada, Warner Bros Inc, Warner-Chappell Music Canada Ltd ℗ Island Records Ltd, 1974

The Joker (Steve Miller band: Steven Haworth Miller, Eddie Curtis, Ahmet Ertegun)

© Rooster Jim Music Co, Sailor-Music, Casablanca Media Publishing, Cotillon Music Inc., Canadiana Music ℗ Capitol Records, 1973

Oui parait-il (Pierre Létourneau, Yves Martin)

© Les éditions Iohann ℗ Les Disques Campus, 1974

Corrente francese in G Minor

Corrente francese en C mineur

℗ ATMA Classique, 2015 (Le livre de luth de Gioseppe Antonio Doni)

Performed by Sylvain Bergeron

N'oublie jamais, Raymond Berthiaume (1954)

The lazy game (Louis Delacourt, Pierre Porte)

© Kapagama, Canpub APM, Creasound ℗ Mondiophone, 1973

Demain nous appartient (Stéphane Venne)

© Les éditions Musicobec ℗ Les disques Mérite

Additional images

Brise d'automne, Rosier-feuilles, Kitchnumbi No.4,Marcel Barbeau, used with the permission of Ninon Gauthier

La Chute Montmorency, Québec (1833), The Lower City of Quebec from the Parapet of Upper City (1833), Le Pont de glace entre Québec et la pointe De Lévy, en 1831, L'Hôpital général de Québec vu de la rivière Saint-Charles gelée (1830), La Place du marché, Québec (1829 ou 1830), L'Anse au Foulon, Sillery (1830?), Québec vu de Beauport en hiver (1830?), James Pattison Cockburn

Ice Birds, a film by Marc Hébert (1978), National Film Board of Canada

Ce soir, with Bernard Derome, 1976, October 18th, (excerpts), Archives Radio-Canada

Soirée électorale du 15 novembre 1976 (excerpts), Archives Radio-Canada

Election Advertising, Parti Québécois (1976)

Election Advertising, Quebec Liberal party (1976)

Production／Ex Machina

Co-production／National Taichung Theater, National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying), Le Diamant, Quebec City, Le Volcan - scène nationale du Havre, La Comète - scène nationale de Châlons-en-Champagne

Producer for Ex Machina／Michel Bernatchez

Associate Production - Europe, Japan／Epidemic (Richard Castelli assisté de Florence Berthaud)

Associate Production - The Americas, Asia (except Japan), Australia, New Zealand／Menno Plukker Theatre Agent (Menno Plukker, assisté de Magdalena Marszalek et Isaïe Richard )