THE LIBRARY AT NIGHT

ABOUT PERFORMANCE

Virtual reality performance "The Library at Night"

It goes from 12:00 to 21:00 

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“The Library at Night” is a love confession to the most traditional institution of the world culture made with the most modern visual technologies. The Library is not a scene, but a main character of the theatricalized exhibition, whose visitors would wear a virtual reality helmet and set out to an imaginary journey. In the journey Visitors are accompanied by a commentator and a guide – “the voice” of the Russian version became the artistic director of the TERRITORY festival, Evgeniy Mironov.

“The Library at Night” is Robert Lepage’s dedication to the National library of his hometown Quebec for its tenth anniversary. But this seemingly local anniversary gift soon turned out to be one of the world’s most popular touring projects of the past season.

The starting point for Lepage’s theatrical fantasy was a cognominal book by a Canadian essayist Alberto Manguel. Lepage creates an explosion of virtual special effects where Manguel sees an excuse for philosophical and sociological reasoning. The most beautiful libraries of Saraevo, Mexico, Alexandria, Washington, Copenhagen and Paris are taking part in the action within the timeframes of Middle Ages and the present. There are no boundaries for director’s fantasy, it equally easily penetrates the Jules Verne’s invented ship “Nautilus” or a buddhist temple, an ancient abbey or the US Congress.

In the end of the journey two encouraging conclusions remain. Firstly, the shelves full of books are still one of the most mysterious and tempting things on earth. Secondly, digital era isn’t destroying libraries, but only emphasizing the diversity of its forms and functions in the modern world: a real library might be anything – political club, secular salon, museum, temple or university.

In total, visitors would immerse 10 existing and fictional spaces of the present and the past. The Video 360° technology is used in the project (with the Samsung Gear VR headset).

Canadian Robert Lepage is one of the few true visionaries of modern theater and an outstanding director. Hi-tech and high art are combined organically in his performances. Being a universal artist, he successfully works in drama theater, opera, show-business and experimental formats not only as a director, but also as an actor, playwright, script writer. In 1994 Lepage founded multidisciplinary producer company “Ex Machina”. In addition to drama plays the company has already released several multimedia performances. Lepage’s works are well-known and highly appreciated in Russia, his shows have been on tours in Moscow many times. His “Hamlet | Collage” is played on the Theater of Nations stage starring Evgeniy Mironov as the lead from 2013.

Project language – Russian and English

Session duration – 0:45

Age limit – 12+

Project was organized by XII International festival-school of contemporary art TERRITORIЯ with Multimedia Art Museum and State museum-exibition centre "ROSIZO" 

Partner of project Carerra y Carerra

Carrera y Carrera is an international Spanish jewelry firm considered one of the most prestigious in the world. Present in over 40 countries, the company has subsidiaries in the United States, China, Japan and Russia, and boutiques all over the world.
This iconic brand is characterized by a unique style and precise designs where the combination of matte-gloss gold and work in volumes and carving yield exceptional jewelry pieces, where gold and precious stones come to life.

Web www.carreraycarrera.com 

Multimedia Art Museum 
st. metro Kropotkinskaya / ул. Остоженка, 16

Photos © Stéphane Bourgeois

TEAM

• Director — Robert Lepage
• Kurator of russian version — Evgeny Mironov
• Co designer and creative director — Steve Blanchet
• Author, co designer and narrator — Alberto Manguel
• Set designer — Marie-Renée Bourget Harvey assisted by Marie Mc Nicoll
• Sound design — Jean-Sébastien Côté
• Light design — Light Factor
• Visual effects — Volta
• VFX Supervisor — Nicolas-Denis Robitaille
• Head of Compositing - 2D Compositing Supervisor — Nathalie Girard
• Lead 3D artist — Éric Maltais
• Matte painter — Richard Bergeron
• Director of the photography — Sébastien Gros
• Production director — Julie Marie Bourgeois and Catherine Comeau assisted by Valérie Lambert
• Technical directors — Michel Gosselin / Pauline Schwab assisted by Dominique Hawry

Additionally

The Library at Night was designed and produced by Ex Machina, based on an original idea by Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

STAFF

Narrators - Evgeniy Mironov (russian part) and Alberto Manguel (english part)

Virtual reality performance "The Library at Night" opens from 12 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. each day from Tuesday still Sunday.

Sessions schedule: 

12:00 / 12:30 / 13:00 / 13:30 /14:00 /
14:30 / 15:00 / 15:30 / 16:00 / 16:30 /
17:00 / 17:30 / 18:00 / 18:30 / 19:00 /
19:30 / 20:00