Imago theaters is celebrating it’s 25th anniversary with the opening of the new production Ana, co-written by Pierre Yves Lemieux and Clare Duffy. Ana takes the audience on a trip through the lives of several woman, all linked by one common ability, the ability to split. The play demonstrates the life changing and difficult choices they must make and illustrates the different roles woman played throughout the ages. The play is brought along by it’s ingenious stage set and it’s talented, multi-cultural cast. This bilingual piece is playing at Espace Go until December 10 and is already capturing attention for it’s mildly disturbing plot.
Ana is the story of a child born in 5000 BC in Ur, the first city of the world according to legend. (First Ana) was the daughter of the goddess of light and the goddess of dark. During a moment of distress or extreme emotion, Ana splits in two, creating another Ana to appear in a different time, in a different place, with no memory or knowledge of her past and dark ability. The play is a collage of several stories, all narrated by Alain Goulem who strives to tie all the loose ends together, playing the ringmaster of the play. The journey of Ana is accompanied by a secondary plot: the dark and painful relationship with her mother, who abandoned her at a young age and haunts Ana’s decisions pertaining to her own child.
Although the plot is quite heavy, the stage setting is very simple. The six Anas emerge from six rectangular boxes with glass sides. The boxes are manipulated and moved around stage, becoming a building, a room, even a boat.