On Robert Lepage: Mirror, Reflections, Theatre

Abstract

Robert Lepage's theatre works are complex, being multilingual, multicultural, multidisciplinary, works-in-progress. They take the form of multiple body, which looks different according to the standpoint of our view. How can we get to the essence of his theatre, without falling into a partial and biased interpretation? One key concept is the mirror, not only as a physical object (almost always present on stage in his productions) but also as a structural principle. The present paper argues that the mirror, its image being splitting and doubling, provides Lepage with the starting point from which to construct his performance. It represents an essential part of the structure of his theatre, self/other oppositions, and even helps his theatre go further beyond the limit of such dichotomies.