"A must-see performance experience" - The Georgia Straight
Whitehorse, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal 2009
Inspired by the life and work of 19th century photographer Eadweard Muybridge, whose instantaneous photography and exhaustive studies in animal and human locomotion foretold the invention of the modern-day cinema.
In 1885 Eadweard Muybridge embarked on a mission of cataloging animal movement and human gestures, dissecting time and in so doing, revealed a world invisible to the naked eye. However, Muybridge is haunted by the ghosts of his past actions; the man he killed, the child he abandoned, and the woman he thought he knew. The play, a physically and visually explosive spectacle, explores themes of memory, identity, and the quest for meaning at the very beginning of our culture's obsession with images.
"A piece of theatre polished to brilliance . . . awe-inspiring . . . it should be seen on major stages around the world." - Vancouver Sun
"A complex, thoughtfully layered script. What makes this production so strong, however, is the tight collaboration between script, choreography, lighting and sound . . . director Kim Collier deserves the highest praise for deftly weaving all these elements together." - The Globe and Mail
By Kevin Kerr
Starring: Andrew Wheeler as Muybridge
With: Kristian Ayre, Gaelan Beatty, Josh Epstein, Julien Galipeau, Allan Morgan, Dawn Petten, Anastasia Phillips, Kyle Rideout, Juno Ruddell, Erin Wells, Jonathon Young
Director: Kim Collier
Choreographed by Crystal Pite
Scenography and Media by Robert Gardiner
Costume Design: Mara Gottler
Composer: Patrick Pennefather
Stage Manager: Jan Hodgson
The mysteries of the human body are laid bare, literally, in this exploration of the life, work and ghosts of Eadweard Muybridge. Muybridge's high-speed motion photographs of people and animals were sensational in the Victorian age, both for their nudity and their ability to reveal the beauty found in simple movement. A sell-out hit at the 2006 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, this spellbinding profile of the man who froze time is not to be missed.
