Not one of these people / Pas une de ces personnes

The world premiere of British playwright Martin Crimp’s most recent work is an extraordinary, unmissable event. The author himself will perform the work in its original language. Theatrical free spirit Christian Lapointe, who has previously translated and staged several of Crimp’s pieces, is the Quebec architect behind this stage reading and will give the two French performances from his own translation.

The piece is composed of 299 lines from 299 characters. It is a tribute of sorts to the multiplicity of viewpoints and infinite variety of human experience. A single performer reads for all 299 of these voices, raising the questions: Can the entire human experience be found within each of us? Do we contain multitudes?

Lapointe and his team used the deepfake process to design a video set that shows images of algorithmically generated faces: people who, like the author’s characters, do not exist yet appear real and shockingly authentic. The fictional people mouth their lines, though in reality it is the performer who reads them and speaks on their behalf. One after another, these voices provide vignettes into the private lives of the characters, similar to the deluge of opinions that pour out on social media.

Not One of These People addresses the critical and burning issue of the legitimacy of literary fiction, especially relevant in contemporary theatre. Who can speak for whom? Who can play whom? Where does artistic freedom end?

I am not one of these people. None of these people exist.

A creation of Carte blanche (Québec City)
A coproduction of Carte blanche, the Royal Court Theatre (London) and the Carrefour international de théâtre (Québec City)

With the collaboration of Sporobole (Sherbrooke)