Bull. Hiroshima Inst. Tech. Research Vol. 56（2022）19-28

ArticleThe Direction of Memory in 887：
Collective Memory and the Construction of Québécois Identity
Mitsuko SUMIDA*（Received. November 5, 2021）

Abstract
The structure of 887, a theatrical performance directed by Robert Lepage, makes the audience
experience personal and collective memory through a monologue. Lepage’s direction techniquepositions fragments of memories together into the memory space so that a local identity as
Québécois is constructed in the audience’s memory. This paper purposes to discuss how thenarrative of 887 presents collective memory and how such communal recollections are associatedwith the construction of the Québécois identity for Lepage, who is also the narrator of the dramaticmonologue. According to Halbwachs, the key to constructing collective memory is to place every
episode of a contemporary flow of time within a single memory. This paper reflects on Lepage’s
theatrical approach vis-à-vis memory and francophones in the 1960s and 1970s, and thus elucidates
the multiple times the audiences of 887 are made to recollect this phenomena.
Key Words: Robert Lepage, stage direction, 887, collective memory, identity crisis
the performance. Finally, the present investigation probes

Introdution

how the collective memory described in 887’s narrative

What exactly are we supposed to remember? The

could be connected to the narrator Lepage’s construction

persona performing 887, a dramatic monologue, oft-of Québécois identity. The study focuses on the invitational

repeats this question on memory, which is both complex

performance of 887 in an English-speaking country,

and ambiguous. 887 is based on the personal history ofparticularly at ‘the Edinburgh International Festival 2015’,

Robert Lepage (1957―), the director, author and actor ofin reference to the English-translated script published in

the theatrical piece. The play examines the construction

2019.1of individual identity through memory, beginning withunremembered aspects of the life Lepage has left behind

1. 887 and Memory

without much presence. This paper examines how 887

887 is a play about the collective memory of theforges connections from fragmented memories through

Québécois. It also represents a journey toward theits dramatic structure and direction. It focuses on the

discovery of this memory. Numbers are symbolic inplay’s articulation of the relationship between personal andthe play, evoking a particular memory in the persona.

collective memory, which in turn inspires the audience’s

For instance, the number ‘887’ signifies ‘887, Murray

recollection. In the process, the present paper references

Avenue, Québéc City’, Lepage’s childhood residence.

relevant extant studies to overview the meaning of

The number inspires a series of memories in the

Michèle Lalonde’s poem, ‘Speak White’, which is recited in

narrative. Lepage is the only actor on stage, performing a＊Department of Information and Communication, Faculty of Applied Information Science, Hiroshima Institute of Technology― 19 ―

Mitsuko SUMIDA

monologue as narrator and dramatic persona, 2 recounting

the consciousness of the groups keeping the memory

autobiographical elements of his childhood to his current

alive.9

self. 3
Karen Fricker (2005) interpreted Lepage’s theatrical

Halbwachs emphasised the certainty of recollections

masterpiece as a mirror enabling him to view his own

elicited within in-group circumstances. He consideredreflection: ‘we can read these thinly fictionalised self-

the associations between communities and individuals

depictions as Lepage’s attempt to “other” himself―to use

as significant in the context of memory. Lepage does

the stage as a mirror through which he can see his own

not clarify whether 887 deals with collective memory.

4

reflection’. This straightforward critique points to the

However, he does attempt to redefine individual memory

play’s style, which makes extensive use of panels and lightin relation to the Québec community of his childhood. Such

to project specific imagery. Lepage’s solo performancea theatrical method is similar to Halbwachs’ technique ofcomprises numerous memory fragments; evidently, in

retaining memory in the context of circumstances. The

attending to the order and arrangement of the memories,

memory of the narrator in monologue is deeply concerned

887, however, reflects more than mere autobiographicalwith a place. The performance showcases the joints

memory. This facet warrants further discussion.

between the personal memory of the narrator and theJane Koustas (2009) aligned with Fricker’s opinions,

Canadian national memory. The recollections incorporate

5elements of the 1960s and 1970s, including the construction

highlighting the ‘otherness’ observable in Lepage’s.

According to Aleksandar Saša Dundjerović (20 07 ),of the Québécois national identity.

‘[n]arrating for Lepage is, thus, a way of finding out who he

The language reflects the distinctiveness of a people.

is by telling audiences about himself and involving, inviting

Lepage’s roots are in Québec, which became a British

6

the outside world’. This interpretation is persuasivecolony in 1763.10 The francophone (French-speaking) people

because the memories not narrated by the narratorof Québec endeavoured to establish their unique identity

allow the audience to more flexibly combine the memory

by using the French language as their mother tongue

fragments. The memories visualised on stage thus achieve

to oppose the anglophone (English-speaking) population

new imageries in the minds of audiences. In particular, inas colonial rulers. Lepage explains his roots: ‘My family

887, the association created with the outside world accords

is a metaphor for Canada. I have this strong impression

special signification to the fragmented memories.

that we are of the same flesh even if it is not the case’(Koustas).11 His father’s political beliefs were federalist; his

2. Collective Memory of the Québécois

mother espoused separatist views. Lepage and his younger

Lepage’s performance appears grounded in Maurice

sister Lynda were educated in French, being brought up

Halbwachs’ theory of collective memory in many ways.

in Québec, while his older brothers were adopted in Nova

Halbwachs distinguishes between two kinds of memory;

Scotia and were educated as anglophones. In 1968, the‘autobiographical memory’ and ‘ historical memory’,

Canadian federal government confirmed French as an7which take place within social context. Autobiographicalofficial language, and the Official Languages Act (Bill 85)

memory relates to events actually experienced by ancame into force in September 1969.12 Lepage was born inindividual, and includes ‘reference to events which one did

December 1957 and was then 11 years old. His anglophone

not experience directly but around which one’s memory isbrothers were, in those days, bullied in school in Québec

8oriented’ (19). In contrast, the historical memory is the one

for speaking English. The parents probably deemed it

which the person did not directly experience, but is vested

necessary that the children should speak both English as

in the memory of the individual’s in-group. Halbwachs

the official language recognised by the federal government,

explains collective memory as below:

and French as the official language recognised by theProvince of Québec. Thus, the Lepage family encompassed

Collective memory differs from history in at least two

both biological and adopted children whose motherrespects. It is a current of continuous thought whose

tongues were different, and Lepage was raised incontinuity is not at all artificial, for it retains fromcomplex family circumstances with multiple roots. The

the past only what still lives or is capable of living in

intricate contexts of national identity are reflected by the― 20 ―

The Direction of Memory in 887(n) No entrance to private school for financial

perspective of the bilingual French and English-speaking

circumstances

narrator of 887.
Initially, Lepage illustrates long-term memory in the(o) Collective memory and the ‘October Crisis’ of 1970

play, performing the roles of both the narrative persona(p) Recitation of ‘Speak White’ in ‘La Nuit de la poésie’and the guide to the memory of the Murray Avenue(q) Memory of the father as taxi driveraddress or the telephone number of his apartment in hischildhood days. He then goes on to elucidate short-time

The memory fragments are demonstrated using thememory: the current mobile phone number is hard tofollowing steps: ‘you [the audiences] take the sentences

remember. The fragments of memory evinced throughor paragraphs of the text you have to memorise and putmonologue are listed below:

them in lots of different spots in various rooms of yourMemory Palace’.13 Memory fragments are extracted from(a) Memory Palace

the divided compartments of the Memory Palace. They(b) Long-term memory and short-term memory

are then separated as units and visualised by projecting: street number, telephone number of fixed-line

scenes and silhouettes onto the onstage back screen,phone and mobile phone number

simultaneously expressed through the narrator’s narrative(c) Memorising ‘Speak White’

performance using gestures.

(d) Full capacity of memory: answering the phone

The language of the Québécois represents a motif(e) Punning: Milton, Byron, Shelley, Keats (MBSK)

related to the narrator’s identity. Lepage speaks of his(f) Cold cut prepared for Lepage

difficulties of articulation and expresses his serious(g) FLQ and the year 1962

anxiety when asked to recite female Québécois poet(h) Memory in childhood

Michèle Lalonde’s (1937―2021) ‘Speak White’ at the 40th-(i)   Right brain and left brain

anniversary meeting for the poem. The persona’s touch: the roles of the brain and the spaceis casual at the beginning of 887 : Lepage begins to(j)   National flag of Canada; the maple leaf flag

memorise the phrases of the French poem at his ease on a(k) President of France, Charles de Gaulle’s visit

Sunday morning.

to Expo’67 in Montréal / ‘Vive le Québec libre’

The term ‘white’ in ‘Speak White’ signifies thelanguage of the white race. Lalonde’s poem was released
in 1968 and was recited at ‘La Nuit de la poésie’ in 1970.
An English translation of ‘Speak White’ from the originalFrench is quoted here:14
Speak white
feel at home with your words
we are bitter people
but we’d never reproach a soulfor having a monopoly
on how to improve one’s speech15
According to Shintaro Fujii, ‘Speak White’ was originallya phrase used by white people (as the colonisers) to orderFig. 1. Performance Panel of 887 at the Edinburgh
International Festival in August 2015.

black people who could not understand English to speak(1) The function of the neuron, and synapsis

words (‘Speak White’) in contempt to French Canadians:Alzheimer’s disease / disorder of the clock dial(m) Silhouettes performancein English in America. English Canadians used suchsince the 19th century to compel them to ‘speak in
English for the white people’ (Fujii). 16 The phrase,‘having a monopoly on how to improve one’s speech’,― 21 ―

Mitsuko SUMIDA

cues the lingual aspect of the history of the anglophone-

Immigration Minister, Pierre Laporte was kidnapped andthreatened Québécois national identity. Language is one

killed on 10 October 1970 and was found a few days later

attribute governing the forging of personal identity. A

in the trunk of a car parked near a military base.
The Québec government requested assistance from

review of the poem critiqued that Lalonde regarded the17and thethe Canadian Armed Forces, and the province was placed

poem consequently enables the audiences of 887 to note

under the War Measures Act to prevent criminal acts andthe historical fact of the francophone in Québec society

bolster the local police with robust powers.19 The armed

being compelled to use the language meant for whites,18

forces were deployed to Québec and Montréal, and thewhose language-based identity was becoming excessively

instances of terrorism petrified the inhabitants of Québec,frail in those days. The recitation of ‘Speak White’ isincluding Lepage.

francophone as akin to ‘blackness in America’,

at first treated lightly, but the attitudes evinced to the

The subjectivity of being Québécois is narrated on-

memorisation task gradually take on a deeper meaning:stage through the eyes of a Lepage recollecting thethe narrator begins to question them. His memory

past turmoil. The memory is vividly visualised throughcapacity is full; he is then impelled to attempt to betterthe usage of comparative colours and tragic music. The

comprehend his francophone roots. The audience views

scene emphasises the feelings of Canadians concerned

the reflections visualised in the theatrical space throughabout the fragmentation of their native Canada. Wet

the persona’s narrative.

yellow and red maple leaves that have fallen in the rain
lie strewn on stage to symbolise the falling patriotism

3. The October Crisis and Collective Memoryand disappointment of Canadians. They offset the yellow

The unforgettable political demonstrations and theraincoat of the newspaper delivery boy, Lepage.

frightening events of the October Crisis are portrayed in

In the stage performance of 887, FLQ’s manifesto

887 to construct the national identity of the Québécois.

is read both in English and French on Radio-Canada.

The strained political situation and the terrifying crisis

Lepage’s father and sister are listening to this broadcast

among the Québécois in the 1960s and 1970s are deeply

as Lepage prepares to go out on his part-time job ofengraved in the memory of Canadians. In 887, thedelivering newspapers, quarrelling with his mother, who

kidnappings that followed prejudices against middle-

tries to prevent him from leaving. Most residents, inclassed francophones, and the people at the mercy of

Québec, have bolted their doors and have stayed homesocial turmoil are demonstrated as the collective memory

in deathly silence. No force seems to patrol the streets. Aof the Québécois from the viewpoint of a man recollecting

soldier with a branch on a helmet as a disguise, inspects

the 1960s and 1970s. The memory fragments of the

Lepage delivering the paper in front of a building, pointing

period are not exactly personal recollections for thea gun at him with some damning words. Lepage ditchesaudience; they, however, gradually become the essences

the paper and walks away in a rush. At this moment, heof the performance as it moves towards the final scene, aremembers that a thirteen-year-old boy was strangled bycollective memory for Canadians. 887 showcases throughan American journalist and died naked. As his horrible

its performance the memory of a struggle for national

feelings as a youth intensify, it is as if the bomb in his bag

subjectivity, which is recognised by the audience as a

blasts in his head, evoking the FLQ incident. The scene

significant memory that shapes the Québécois identity.

demonstrates the fear of the citizens of Québec as the

The political turmoil caused certain occurrences

troops went into action to arrest terrorists.

in Québec. In 1962, mailboxes were blasted in an area

This memory is one of the most horrifying images of

housing rich anglophones. The October Crisis of 1970 was

the October Crisis for the Québécois, and it is certainly

also triggered in 1962 with the words of French Canadianpivotal to the formation of their national identity.

Donald Gordon (vice-president and CEO of the Canadian

Halbwachs’ perspective of collective memory is based

National Railways), implying that French Canadians couldon the continuity of time from the past to the present

not develop the skills to take on management positions.

in a particular group. Conversely, the performance of

His ironic statement irritated the Front de Libération du

887 intermittently constructs such a temporal continuity

Québec (FLQ). Several years later, the Québec Labour andof a peculiar group in the memory of an audience― 22 ―

The Direction of Memory in 887

belonging to the other group. The memory fragments are

Photograph by Erick Labbé

recognised by spectators as the links between Lepage
and the Québécois. The persona within Lepage, from thepresent time, is just observing the adult people who weredisappointed at the federal government and remembering
the imminent uneasiness and terror in those days. In
particular, Lepage is a sovereigntist himself who advocatesthe necessity of independence of Québec from Canada. 20
However, the view of the persona functions far from suchhis personal belief itself. This narrative about FLQ allows
the audience to attach with the group memory in which
the people survived the period in crisis in Québec in the
1960s and 1970s. A series of memories leads to the change

Fig. 2. Lepage as the persona, his father’s taxi, and hisapartment on the stage of 887.

of the persona in the epilogue of this performance.

Conversely, the adult narrator Lepage meditates

4. Construction of Identity as Québécois

downstairs, outside the apartment building. He talks

Personal memories such as remembrances of theabout what he would really like to tell his father: ‘I missnarrator’s father are also relevant to the narrator’syou, can’t you stay?’22 However, in actuality, he fails in his

acquiring the identity as a Québécois. In the 1960s,

endeavour to pour his heart out to his father. The child’s

f ra ncophones were low-wage workers . However,feeling is superimposed on the memory; a dispatch radio

francophones who spoke English could attain a higher

for a passenger comes on as the taxi lingers.

status in the Province of Québec than non-English-

The piano starts to play Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 48 No.1

speaking francophones. The difficult conditions wereC minor. This tune is keyed by the only pianist in theameliorated for francophones, as the French language

apartment, who has a sombre memory: his lover drowned

policy established in the 1970s encouraged immigrants toin the lake at the national park in a car accident. He wasuse French as well as English, and English speakers were

the driver of the car as a college student. The landscapeable to learn and use French.

21

Lepage’s father had beenretained in the memory of the gloomy pianist overlaps

in the Navy and could speak English; he was thus ablewith the mental panorama of the lonely son left alone as

to earn tips by taking Americans for sightseeing tours.

the taxi drives away. Actually, the person feeling the ‘deep

Even so, economic conditions were difficult, and he had

nostalgia’ is the persona of a grown-up man. He recollects

to work as a taxi driver some nights to sustain his wife,

the past from the standpoint of the current moment.

five children, and mother with Alzheimer’s disease. In so

Strictly speaking, the memory visualised by the persona

doing, he missed precious time of night with children. The

is not coincident with what it was. The more the imagery

narrator’s memories of his father are nostalgic on stage.

intensifies, the more the audience becomes intoxicatedHis sadness about his father is imposed from a child’swith the pathetic romanticism of the relationship between

perspective on a past memory landscape, and the narrated

father and son. The father, as a taxi driver, can enlarge

memory turns sentimental.

the spatial blueprint for a guided map in his brain

On a hot midnight in June, a taxi driver, smoking inaccording to his desires; ironically, he, however, canfront of the apartment, is listening to dispatch calls to getnever know where his son is and what he is doing. 23 Thea customer. The narrative shows Lepage as a child looking

distance between a father working outside the home anddownwards to grasp his father’s movements.

the son staying indoors is not narrowed despite the freeenlarging of the human mental map as a person explores
a path. 887 articulates this sustained family difficulty as a
nostalgic landscape of a paling memory, using the effects
of a Chopin melody and the stillness of the night. Lepage’s
personal conflicted memories of his father are connected― 23 ―

Mitsuko SUMIDA

to the final scene in 887, where they become related to theAbout a minute before going on stage, I [Robert]collective Québécois memory.

wondered what anybody would wonder in a context

The narrator persona in 887 asks the audience

like this one. Why did I agree to put myself on

to consider the genuineness of the collective memory

the line like this? Why did I paint myself in thepossibly held by the Québécois. The narrator functions

corner, once again? And when I walked on stage, I

as a guide leading the audience to the fragments of his

immediately had my answer. . . . What is exactly thatmemory. He develops them, unites them, and passes on

we are supposed to remember? Then I thought I am

some new memories to the audience. Marie Mendehall

not worthy of reciting this poem. No more than therecognises Lepage’s minor device of adopting the film

people in that room are worthy of hearing it. And I

technique into the theatrical performance to explore

don’t know what I inherited from my father’s DNA,

cultural memories ‘through the distorting lens ofbut certainly it wasn’t his great humility. And in apersonal and cultural memory’.
distortion,

25

24

situation like this one, only someone like him would

Any lens elicits somehave the authority of speaking these words. 26

and Lepage skillfully utilises some memory-

related warping to associate to the cultural memory todramatically manipulate the audience’s mental imagery.

The authority to recite this poem (‘Speak White’ )Some remarkable twisting persists after the disappearance

signifies the rights of a francophone forced to speak theof the persona. Such types of distortions also imply new

language of the other race. This poem makes Lepage

possibilities of the onstage direction of memory.

recognise francophones of the 1960s and 1970s like his

Finally, the paper delves into the theatrical structure

father, who sweated for low wages in a Québec societythat leads to the epilogue, which is focused on the person

in which English denoted the language of those who

who creates memories. The audience is granted two

dominated. His indignation at reciting the poem exhibits

opportunities to applaud the performance of 887. The

his acknowledgement of his national identity. Lepage wasaudience can first clap at the end of ‘La Nuit de la poésie’,

struggling with the capacity limitations of his memory but

which it is invited to join. The second time, the audience

could magnificently recite the poem in French. In fact,claps immediately after the epilogue when the taxi driverthe poem had become a part of his memory, despite hisstarts the engine and turns on the car light. This applauseconcerns.

occurs naturally and represents the audience’s actual

Before he comes onstage, Lepage understands that only

cheering and clapping. It is the applause of the audiences

someone like his father should have the power to recite

for the extraordinary way of life of the Québécois. In

the poem. However, the persona disappears completely

contrast, the first instance of audience applause is fictional

as a result of his inner change. The next moment, Lepage

and is grounded in the dramatic narrative. The play’s

appears as himself on the stage and recites ‘Speakstructure allows Lepage as the persona to change andWhite’ in an indignant tone. Thus, the neutral view of

become influenced by the clapping of the audience, when

the narrative persona collapses as a genuine Québécois

he achieves his recitation of the abovementioned poem.

identity is generated in Lepage. The audience can, in turn,

The audience is thus unintentionally involved in theview Lepage’s growth as he finally casts off his old self.

process of Lepage’s identity construction.

The performance simply and symbolically makes visible

The paper now addresses the stage direction of such
scenes. This play about the journey to memory begins

to the audience an internal change in the construction of
Québécois identity.

with a motif of a man who finds it difficult to memorise

When Lepage exits the stage to the audience applausea poem. Lepage, the persona is supposed to recite ‘Speakafter the poem’s recitation, his silhouette parts with his

White’ in ‘La Nuit de la poésie’. He is worried whether his

body and remains onstage. The remaining silhouettelife is worthy; he, however, is able to recite ‘Speak White’

indicates the presence of the persona. The action isand invalidate his current vacillations about his identity.

symbolic of the persona of Lepage following the Québécois

The poem is imprinted on his brain.

collective memory as well as autobiographical memory.
It connects the two types of memory in the audience’s
memory. The persona’s function of narrating Lepage’s― 24 ―

The Direction of Memory in 887

entire personal history is entrusted to the audience at thisof a certain national group is simulated in 887. Lepage,juncture.

the director assumes the memory of the persona, which

The play adopts the structure of ‘a play within a play’.

becomes available through the viewing attitudes of

The first applause is fictional; the second at the end of

the audience. Italian director, Romeo Castellucci (1960the epilogue is actual. The audience views the image of―) elucidates that the term viewing attitude represents

Lepage’s father between the two kinds of clapping. This

conscious watching and is based on the audience’s

visual represents the mental impression the audience mayawareness of its intention to see (105). 27 Viewing attitudes

hold. Lepage wears the uniform of a taxi driver, playing

appear to be selected unconsciously by audiences, but

the role of his father, and starts the engine of the taxi. The

Castellucci insists they are not unconscious and that theaudience regards the figure of Lepage’s father, listening tosubjective choice of the audience is significant. Lepage’s‘Bang Bang’ by Nancy Sinatra from the car radio as the

direction of 887 also accords the audience with thedazzling front light of the car illuminates audience seats.

opportunity to sense the subjective experience of seeing.

Thus ends the final scene of the epilogue.

This theatrical method enables every audience to share

The audience experiences an internal transformation

the theatrical space that is watched and to becomeby sharing the collective memory of the Québécois inimmersed in the collective Québécois memory without

the 1960s and 1970s. The director is aware of this point.

undertaking the forced theatrical responsibility of viewing.

In the epilogue, the performance allows the audience to

In fundamental terms, non-Québécois audiences arefreely access the psychic scenery of Lepage’s memory

spatially distant from Québec and have no real idea of theinstead of observing the actual figure of the taxi driver.

Québécois. Nevertheless, the audience could be emotionallyIn this way, it is not the narrator but the audience who

touched by the epilogue without the interference ofimagines the past image of the taxi driver. As mentioned

a persona. The more the audience knows about thein the introductory section of this paper, the memory theperspective of people living in a francophone society at

narrator never recounts allows the audience to more freelythat time, the easier it becomes for the audience to accept

connect the other memory fragments.

the daily anxieties of someone struggling with his identity

The stagecraft offers a view into an individual

as a Québécois. The audience begins to observe the figure

subconscious via subjective thinking even when itof the grown-up persona via the collective memory ofis viewed from the perspective of the audience. The

Québécois, a perspective distanced from the audience’s

collective memory of a particular nation does not precisely

own national identity. The dynamics of a trust relationshipcorrespond with the specific memories of the audiences.

between the audience and the performance is evidently

However, the performance of memory fragments elicits

ambiguous as the audience chooses to view theatrical

discrete possibilities through which the audience canfiction. However, the sight of the psychic landscape deep

subjectively re-experience the roots of a nation throughwithin the mind of a person helps the audience initiate

its collective memory. Further, this technique allows

trust. The epilogue sans a persona breaks racial barriers,

the audience to digest the indispensable worth of aand audience can transition towards the creation of theirfrancophone identity. The reflection of the landscape via

own representation of a great Québécois who laboured forthe audience mind indicates a more active and subjective

work in the 1960s and 1970s. 28

method of following the roots of human memory.
The theatrical performance itself appears to reflect

Conclusion

memory fragments; in fact, a significant distortion,

887 is a play about a man who begins to seek his true

however, occurs once the persona disappears. In theidentity through a collective memory clue. This study,

epilogue, it is the audience who manipulates the mental

based on Halbwachs’ theory, contemplated the method

imagery and eventually completes the Québécois identityof theatrical direction that showcases the Québécois

of an individual because the shared collective memory

collective memory to the audience. In so doing, the playof the Québécois and the autobiographical memory of anallows the audience to subjectively access certain imagery

individual are combined within the audience.

through the disappearance of the narrative persona.

The distinctive embodiment of a specific memory― 25 ―

Lepage realises the dignity of the francophone patientlyMitsuko SUMIDA

engaged in low-wage labour, through the recitation of aNotes

poem titled ‘Speak White’. Language is associated withThis paper is a revised version based on t he

subjectivity. Even though anglophones monopolised thepresentation of the general panel of the International

selection of language, francophones survived the pain ofFederation for Theatre Research (IFTR) World Congress

losing their right to choose. The indignation in Lepage’s

2018 (11 July 2018, University of Arts in Belgrade, Serbia).

recitation represents the distinctive Québécois identity.

I would like to acknowledge the participants of the panel

A neutral narrator functions as the persona of the‘Performance as a Space for Migrating’, who raised

performance up to this moment in the monologue. He

important questions and the chairman who inspired an

recounts his childhood years in an apartment located in

idea about the memory space, Professor Dundjerović.

887, Murray Avenue, and describes its francophone andThis study was developed with the support of ‘2018

anglophone inhabitants. In contrast, the final scene is notdiscretionary expenses of the Principal’ (expenses forenacted as a monologue directed at the audience. The way

the support of educational and research activities: ‘The

it is depicted changes and the subjectivity of the persona

Narrative in the Modern Drama and Construction of theis transferred from the narrator to the audience. The

Human Subjectivity: Lepage and Stoppard’) of National

dramatic structure enables the audience to unite memory

Institute of Technology, Tsuyama College.

fragments and view the image of the father still alive in
Lepage’s mind. This feat is accomplished as the audiences1

watch a collective Québécois memory and incorporate it

Scotland performed mainly in English and sometimes inwithin their own memories. The epilogue has no words; it

French: 887. Dir. Robert Lepage. Staged in the Edinburgh

visualises what is originally invisible to the audience mind,

International Conference Centre during Edinburgh

triggering a strong impression in the audience.

International Festival, 13 Aug. 2015, Edinburgh, Scotland.

This research is based on the following performance ofLepage has stated that he made an effort to unearth

The other referenced performance is the following: 887.

his personal memories to create this piece, but asserts in

Dir. Robert Lepage. Staged in Tokyo Geijutsu Gekijo

wonder that he never imagined he would consequently

Playhouse, 25-26 June 2016, Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan. The

be thrown into a Québécois class struggle and become

first performance of 887 is the following: 887. Written,caught in the swell of an identity crisis. 887 encompasses

designed, directed, and performed by Lepage. Staged firstcomplicated personal memories that coexist with collectivein Bluma Appel Theatre, St Lawrence Center, 14-19 Julymemory. The journey to memory directed in 887 evinces

2015, Toronto, Ont. The referenced original texts are thethe strong invisible connections between fragmented

followings: Robert Lepage, 887: A Play. trans. Louisa Blair

Québécois memories.

(House of Anansi P, 2019): 887: Théâtre (L’instant même,2016).
2

The character is written as ‘Robert’ in the text of 887.

In this paper the author, however, will call the persona in
the narrative as ‘Lepage’ to unify the name.
3

The ‘persona’ appears by the way of the character or

the narrator, and it appears as the existence recognised
behind the whole of the narrative (Hodgson 397). Terry
Hodgson, The Batsford Dictionary of DRAMA（ 西 洋 演
劇用語辞典）, trans. Ryuichi Suzuki et al. (B. T. Batsford,
1988. Kenkyusha, 1996).
4

Karen Fricker, “The Globalization of Robert Lepage:

Q uéb é c o i s Cu lt u r a l Po l it ic s a nd C ont emp or a r y
Theatre Practice”, Unpublished PhD Thesis (Trinity― 26 ―

The Direction of Memory in 887

College, 2005), p.156.

Shoten, 2009), 154-170. p.157.

5

13	

Jane Koustas, “Robert Lepage in Toronto: Staging the887: A Play, 2019. p.4.

Other”, Contemporary Theatre Review 19 (2009): 155-63.
14
6

In Mezei’s explanation, ‘‘Speak White’ was also one of

Aleksandar Saša Dundjerović, “Personal and Cultural

the highlights at another politically charged event, theContexts”, The Theatricality of Robert Lepage (McGill-famous nuit de la poésie held in Montreal in 1970 during

Queen’s UP, 2007), 3-23. p.12.

the October Crisis, when Pierre Trudeau in the wake of
FLQ kidnappings and killing invoked the War Measures

7

Maurice Halbwachs, “The Collective Memory”, The

Act, imprisoning many Quebec writers and artists’ (230).

Collective Memory Reader, eds. Jeffrey K. Olick, Vered

Kathy Mezei, “Bilingualism and Translation in/of Mich leVinitzky-Seroussi and Daniel Levy (Oxford UP, 2011), pp.

Lalonde’s Speak White”, The Translator Studies in

139-49.

Intercultural Communication 4.2 (1998): 229-47.

815

Jeffrey K. Olick, et al., Introduction, The Collective

Memory Reader, p.19.

Michèle Lalonde, “ Speak White”(19 70), (Ottawa :Hexagone, 1974). This English translation from French isquoted from the translation in Mezei (1998), p.238. This9

part is also translated by CCS as follows: ‘Speak white /Halbwachs, pp.142-43.

Be easy in your words / We’re a race that holds grudges
10

Québec is the capital of south-eastern Canada founded/ But let’s not criticize anyone / For having a monopoly

as a French colony in 1608. Québec fell down in the Anglo-/ On correcting language’. trans. Canadian Studies (CCS).

French Colonial War in 1759 and became a British colony“Monday Poem(s): ‘Speak White’ and ‘Speak What’”, Homeby the Treaty of Paris of 1763. In 1867, it became thefor a Rest: University of Leeds Centre for Canadianprovince of Québec as a part of Canadian Confederation. In

Studies (CCS), 17 Oct. 2011. 29 Oct. 2021, https://the aspect of the language, the language law enforcement

homeforarestleeds.wordpress.com/2011/10/17/monday-

was weak in 1969 and 1974, but in 1977 the Charter ofpoems-speak-white-and-speak-what/.

the French Language was enacted, which was binding
and regulated the primacy of the French language in the16

province of Québec.

Robert Lepage 887”,（個人的記憶と集合的記憶

Shintaro Fujii, “Personal Memory and Colletive Memory:
ロベー

ル・ルパージュ『887』）SPICE, 12 Dec. 2016. 15 Sep. 2020,
11

Jane Koustas, “Robert Lepage: Living, Confronting,https://spice.eplus.jp/articles/81995.

and Staging the Other”, Robert Lepage on the Toronto
Stage: Language, Identity, Nation (McGill-Queen’s UP,

17	

Mezei, p.234.

2016), 16-49. pp.16-17. Aleksandar Saša Dundjerović, The
Theatricality of Robert Lepage (McGill-Queen’s UP, 2007),18

3-23. pp.5-6.

in the 1960s and 1970s. It is narrated in 887, ‘887 Murray

Francophone was the majority in the society of Québec

Avenue was really very representative of Quebec at the12

Before the Charter of the French Language wastime: about 80 percent francophone, 20 percent anglophone,enacted in 1977, French was rather regarded as anstill very few immigrants, and as many people leaning

economically inferior language in Québec. It is because

right as there were leaning left’ (887:A Play, 10).

the pronunciation of Québécois French is far from thestandard French pronunciation. It is noted that it made the19

Québécois have a sense of inferiority complex (Yazu, 157).

the Latest Age”（最近のカナダ）, trans. Hiroshi Shimizu.

Norie Yazu, “The Charter of the French Language”（フラCanada: A Story of Challenge（カナダの歴史―大地・民ンス語憲章）, 54 Chapters Familiar with Québec（ケベック

族・国家―）(Yamakawa. 1978). Kensei Yoshida, “Post-war

を知るための54章）, ed. Yoshikazu Obata, et al. (Akaishi-

Canada”（戦後のカナダ）, The History of Canada（カナダ― 27 ―

Ref. James Maurice Stockford Careless, “Canada inMitsuko SUMIDA

consider the symbolism. In contrast, in the theatre史）, ed. Kazuo Kimura (Yamakawa, 1999), 296-330.

performance, the relationship between the performance
20

Lepage recognises to be a French Canadian and further

and the audience is extensive; distortions might occur fromregards himself as ‘a lukewarm separatist’. Alexis Soloski,

the difference of viewing angle of the audience and so the“Robert Lepage on Family, Francophone Separatism andperformance gets polysemous.

‘887”, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2017. 5 Nov. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/20/theater/robert-lepage-

26

discusses-his-origins-and-the-autofiction-of-887.html.

Ref. 887:A Play, 2019. pp.106-07.

21

27

Takashi Niwa, “Montréal and Québec”（ モ ントリオ ーThe part is quoted from the 2015 performance of 887.

Shintaro Fujii, Interview. “Romeo Castellucci /Soc etas

ルとケベック市）, 54 Chapters Familiar with Québec, ed.

Raffaello Sanzio: Commedia and Enigmas”（ロメオ・カステ

Yoshikazu Obata (Akaishi-Shoten, 2009), 23-30.

ルッチ : 神聖喜劇と謎）14 Dec. 2009. eds. F/T University,
The Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum Waseda

22

University, and Shintaro Fujii, Creativity in the Post-

887:A Play, 2019. pp.70-71.

Drama Period: 12 Lessons for the New Drama（ ポ スト
23

ドラマ時 代の創造力 : 新しい演劇のための12のレッスン）

887:A Play, 2019. pp.70-71.

(Hakusuisha, 2014). p.105.
24

Marie Mendehall, “Through the Lens of Robert Lepage:

Special Effects in Theater and Film”, West Virginia

28

University Philological Papers (2001): 96-102. p.102.

for a while after the performance of 887 on 13 August

The enthusiastic applause and cheers did not cease

2015, in the Edinburgh International Festival 2015. After
25

In films, the relationship between the film and thethe performance, the author saw various unfamiliar

recipient is one-to-one; the image recorded by a lens of theinternational audiences talk about the impressions eachcamera is direct and has an effect to make the recipient

other.

― 28 ―