Quotes from Robert Lepage

The first 'Ring' in Bayreuth was about the poetical world, the mythological world.

I'm not good at doing show business; I'm a theatre person. I don't reveal anything about my life.

Writing is very much perceived as something distinct from performance. I don't see it like that.

My father had barely any education. He could hardly write or count. But his great pride was that he was perfectly bilingual. In the household, he entertained this idea that we had to speak both languages.

I am interested in suffering and, in particular, the Buddhist idea that in pain, you can find beauty.

I remember my first review in London said I was the next Peter Brook. I said: 'No way. I'm not Peter Brook. I don't have the maturity, the experience, the intelligence. Don't burden me.'

Opera should be a place for art forms to meet. I've worked a lot with Peter Gabriel; his music isn't operatic, but he creates big, popular gatherings to which architecture, dance, and music are all invited.

With the social media phenomenon, where people's opinions inform so much of what we do with our lives, where the number of 'likes' decides what we should program, I cringe.

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.

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

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

I find it very strange when people say that they are trying to solve 'Uncle Vanya' or find a solution for 'Henry V.' Plays aren't puzzles. They are about playing. But so much theatre has become about performing and acting rather than playing, which is a great pity because audiences are captivated by watching people play.

Of course I had friends, but it was very limiting because there was always a chance that at every corner, someone would be laughing at me or waiting to beat me up. I had a very lonely childhood because of that.

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

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.

Cirque du Soleil distinguished itself by being a circus with no animals. Before then, circus was partly about showing how man can tame other species.

Sylvie Guillem is the best dancer in the world.

I can't really define myself as a dramatist or as an actor or as someone who is interested in music.

I will always demand the right for theatre to talk about anything and anyone. Without exception. None.

Usually, on Broadway or in Hollywood, you come up with a project, and you have to convince the producers that it's safe.

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

I don't disagree with the critics often, and I'm not destroyed by bad criticism anymore. There comes a point when you go beyond it.

I admire people who can spend every aspect of their life in one discipline and really go all the way. I feel the only way I could achieve some type of excellence is if I connect to other people, other disciplines.

I've always been a little scared of technology, which is why I explore it.