The theatre scene in Toronto offers a vast array of shows for us to enjoy. This week, Robet Lepage‘s Needles And Opium opens, 20 years after its first production. This new production is presented by Canadian Stage in co-production with Théâtre du Trident, Québec and Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, Montréal. The show stars Marc Labrèche reprising his leading role, with Wellesley Robertson III joining him on stage bringing a second character to life. The production features new scenography with original images combined through highly visual staging, which promises to be a sight to be seen.

The play is a tale of displacement, love and loss, drug addiction, and the creative drive that sets American jazz musician Miles Davis during his stay in Paris in 1949 side by side with French poet Jean Cocteau as he travelled to America in the same year. Cocteau writes his Lettre aux Américains; he has just discovered New York, where he presented his most recent feature film, L’Aigle à deux têtes. At the same time, Davis is visiting Paris for the first time, bringing bebop with him to the old continent. Forty years later, at the Hotel La Louisiane in Paris, a lonely Québécois tries in vain to forget his former lover. His emotional turmoil mirrors Cocteau’s dependence on opium and Davis’ on heroin through a spectacular withdrawal experience presented as a hypnotic series of fictional vignettes.

Marc Labrèche in Needles And Opium. Photo: Nicola Frank Vachon

Originally presented in 1991 in French, Needles and Opium (Les Aiguilles et l‘opium) was Lepage’s second major solo production. He performed in the show for its first three years. Labrèche then took over the role and further toured with the production. Lepage is one of Canada’s most honoured theatre artists. His work is world-renowned and it includes Lipsynch (its recent film adaptation Triptych premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this past September), Playing Cards, The Blue Dragon, The Andersen Project, The Far Side of the Moon, to list a few. This year, Lepage was also awarded his tenth Glenn Gould Prize.

During the run of this production, Canadian Stage will also offer a series of free pre-show talks, and post-show talkbacks held before and after select performances, with Lepage speaking to audiences on November 23 at 7 p.m. about the production in a chat facilitated by Matthew Jocelyn, artistic and general director at Canadian Stage. This is definitely a chance to take in some of Lepage’s work, but also to explore a fascinating and complex story.