The Auckland Arts Festival show that will have you moonstruck

Yves Jacques in The Far Side of the Moon. Photo: David Leclerc

Yves Jacques is one of Quebec's most prolific performers.

His career has spanned more than 30 years and his performances have been applauded the world over. Yet, despite a swathe of awards and decades of experience, Jacques is a reflective soul.

His voice gently hums down the telephone line as we connect Auckland to Montreal and start to discuss beauty, poetry and philosophy in Robert Lepage's exquisite existential odyssey The Far Side of the Moon.

Despite having toured the work for almost 20 years, Jacques shows no sign of letting up nor has his enthusiasm sagged.

"From the moment I took over the show, we didn't change anything, and to be honest, I don't have the responsibility of changing anything," he says. "After Manchester, we took the show to Paris and then to Brussels, it was wonderful to hear our audiences continue to engage with the show — even after having seen it many times before."

Lepage's work varies in intensity, and often length, but the French-Canadian playwright/ director/performer has created a production that continues to inspire, delight and tease audiences.

The remarkable playfulness of The Far Side of the Moon, coupled with its deep philosophical questions and potent tragedy, is an excellent introduction for those new to Lepage's work — and an old favourite for those who have visited before.

"This work is deeply poetic but it's the lyrics of the everyday," says Jacques. "Robert's poetry comes from the infinitely small and, in doing so he ends up asking about the infinitely important."

Set in the USSR-US space race of the 1960s, The Far Side of the Moon delves into the lives of Philippe and Andre, two brothers whose different natures (and responses) reflect the larger forces competing to reach the frontiers of space.

Jacques describes Philippe as humble, philosophical and wanting to know whether he's in the right place at the right moment; in contrast, Andre is a money-making mess.

". . . and here is the contrast — the beauty of these two beings," Jacques says. "Robert has created a parallel world in which two brothers face a number of different challenges but outside the immediacy of their private lives, we have the Russian cosmonauts and the American astronauts all racing against time to be the first to land on the moon.

"All of them are absorbed with the same question: what is really important to me?"

There is a pause as Jacques reflects and his response is thoughtful, slow and deliberate.

"You know, I've never discussed this," he says, "but this is the only show where I have ever had that feeling of being an imposter.

"I've been performing this work ever since 2000 and it took me a long time to feel, 'yes, I'm okay, I deserve to be here'. "It was only when Robert told me, 'Yves, it's your show' that I felt that release — and also, that what I did mattered, to my audiences, to the story.
"That was really important to me."

It's this tendency to be deeply introspective that has always been Jacques' trademark, no matter whether performing work of Lepage, Chekhov or Denys Arcand — and to hear this truth echo down a crackly landline halfway across the world is a beautiful reminder why he continues to be a perfect fit for the role.

And his love for poetry doesn't go amiss either.

"When you have poetry in a theatre show, you can bring in a balance," Jacques says.
"You can blend humour, philosophy, fear and delight — and it will touch you."

Lowdown
What: Auckland Arts Festival - The Far Side of the Moon
Where & when: ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre; March 22 — 25