Gaëtan - World Premiere of Ex Machina / Robert Lepage
This production connects the legacy of Robert Lepage with that of Gaëtan Dugas, who was long and wrongly identified as the “patient zero” of AIDS.
Crédit: Ex Machina
966 Rue Saint-Jean, Colline Parlementaire, Vieux-Québec–Cap-Blanc–Colline-Parlementaire, La Cité-Limoilou, Québec, Capitale-Nationale, G1R 1R5, Canada
RouteDate of the event (19)
APRIL 2027
About
This production by Ex Machina explores the connections between personal memory and collective memory through the figure of Gaëtan Dugas, who was long and unjustly associated with the myth of “patient zero” in the AIDS epidemic.
Following the funeral of his aunt, who died of COVID-19, Robert Lepage stumbles upon her grave. This encounter becomes the starting point for a journey through intimate memories and contemporary history.
The narrative moves between the 1980s, marked by the emergence of AIDS; 1983, when Lepage was touring Canada with his troupe; and 2020, when the pandemic reignited fears, prejudices, and exclusionary tendencies.
Blurring the lines between documentary and fiction, the production traces Gaëtan Dugas’s journey while questioning how collective narratives are constructed.
Led by Robert Lepage, Frédérique Bradet, and Natan-Maël Gray, this sensitive work explores memory, stigmatization, and our relationship to history.
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Gaëtan - World Premiere of Ex Machina / Robert Lepage
