Robert Lepage

“I always thought I was more of a mommy's boy, because she was charming, talkative, a great storyteller. But as I dug back into my past, I realized I am exactly like my father on so many levels, although I never thought I inherited anything from him.”

“The real writing of a piece comes only when you are performing it. It is why I like theatre. In film and TV, the image is locked forever, but in theatre, there is constant change; each performance is part of the writing process.”

“The first time someone stood up in front of the fire and told the story while illustrating it with shadows on the walls of the quarry, that was the birth of theater.”

“The important thing is not to know where you are going, to be open to accidents. That's what keeps it fun.”

“I like doing very small, intimate things in the morning and then, in the afternoon, to be working on something in a big stadium.”

“In Grade 2, when we had to do a presentation in front of the class, I'd always do things about Ireland or Italy. I could draw maps; I could name all the capitals: I was completely drawn to other lands. I discovered with time that it's a thirst for other people, for otherness, for something fascinating and mysterious.”

“I'm a follower of people not necessarily connected with the theater.”

“It's obvious that any new show comes with its share of blunders, misfires, and bad choices.”

“The extraordinary context of 'Coriolanus' is that it's the first republic - it's the first attempt to create a society not ruled by a monarch. It changes the whole system, and you see how the establishment reacts to that, how they have disdain but play along - and you recognize this is the whole American republican system.”

“There's not a system better than another. There are some people better than others. I'm not anti-democracy, but there's no real system yet that has proven itself to be the right one.”

“I'm not good at entertainment. I don't give myself to all the interviews, game shows, or talk shows.”

“When we were working on 'River Ota' in the '90s, I learnt to read Japanese, which was how I discovered that it incorporates elements of Chinese calligraphy.”

“When I went into the conservatory at 17, then I was able to open up and accept everything about myself and show my feminine side as well as my masculine.”

“I want to be surprised by life... I think that's more interesting.”

“We have a tendency in Quebec - and I include myself in this - to describe ourselves using the past. We're always nostalgic.”

“Vegas is a testing ground for the human soul. What are our values, especially in a time of crisis? Work with Cirque du Soleil, and you learn that quickly. The former socialist street performers who now throw parties by the pool with Brazilian models, oh yes!”

“All of Vegas is false. There's a false Paris, a false Venice, a false Baghdad - in fact, all of the early Vegas aesthetic is Baghdad, which is also the irony. It's 'Aladdin,' the sands, 'One Thousand and One Nights.'”

“I had been warned by other directors that opera is hell. The singers don't want to do what you want.”

“Why do we remember stuff from when we were 5 years old but not important facts that are more recent?”

“There is a way to grow old and still have dignity.”