From Canada comes The Far Side of the Moon, written and directed by Robert Lepage and presented by Ex Machina. Dating from February 2000, this piece has travelled the world and, now, has arrived in Adelaide. It is performed by Yves Jacques, with assistance from puppeteer, Éric Leblanc.
Jacques plays two estranged brothers, the younger one, Andre, a successful television weather presenter, the other, the far less successful Phillipe, completing a thesis and heading to Russia to present a talk based on his work. Andre is gay and in a relationship. Phillipe's marriage failed and, as an income, he sits telephoning strangers in an effort to sell subscriptions to the local newspaper.
They are forced to communicate, to settle her estate, and clear her apartment, after the death of their mother, albeit only by telephone, never face to face. Who will accept custody of the goldfish? Who will take the bookshelf that their father made as a barrier between them when they shared a room as boys? Jacques also plays the mother, and a couple of other characters. Their personal stories are played out against the background of the history of the Soviet and US space race. Archival videos are played at key points in the work.
Jacques is, quite simply, an exceptional performer, portraying all of the characters with great skill, and making some swift costume changes, whilst adding considerable physical theatre technique to his performance. There is enormous variety in his performance, keeping the audience engaged from start to finish as he draws together the numerous threads. His interaction with the puppets, superbly worked by Leblanc, is seamless.
Not only do we have Jacques switching brilliantly between very diverse characters, but the set constantly transforms along with him, thanks to a series of sliding panels, and a huge mirrored panel the width of the stage, with the use of only a couple of props that also take on numerous roles, an ironing board becoming a motorcycle and an exercise machine, a washing machine door becoming the entrance to a space capsule and an MRI scanner. One is constantly amazed at the inventiveness of LePage who, incidentally, originally performed the piece as well as creating it.
There is nothing gimmicky about all of this, though, as it forms an integral part of the production, along with the lighting and the music. Most of the music is original, composed and recorded by Laurie Anderson, but it also includes a few other pieces, including Ludwig van Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and John Coltrane's Naima. The final sequence, to Beethoven's music, has Jacques lying on the floor, reflected in the massive mirror, appearing to be floating weightlessly in space. This is an unforgettable conclusion to this marvellous performance.
Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Saturday 3rd March 2018.