27-29 Oct 2006. Written, directed and performed by Robert Lepage. Canadian born Lepage has been described as the alchemist of the modern stage. In his latest work, inspired by the life and work of Hans Christian Andersen, Lepage once again takes on the roles of writer, director and performer, drawing on his customary visual flair with a sophisticated use of video projection, sound engineering and scenic machinery. Part meditation on the end of romanticism and part satire on opera house bureaucracy gone mad, The Andersen Project weaves together a series of narrative threads. These include a modern day story which begins in the sordid cubicles of a Parisian sex shop before moving back in time to Andersens trip to the Worlds Fair in Paris in 1867 and his fairytales The Dryad and The Shadow. Lepage revisits familiar themes of his work, such as the search for sexual fulfillment and the solitary life of an artist. The Guardian has described the work as, A playful and dazzling ode to the imagination and an evening of storytelling worthy of Hans Christian himself.