Actor Richard Lam: AI, art and Talk is Free Theatre’s La Bête are “very connected”– and very timely

David Hirson’s La Bête is a satiric delight. Through sharp dialogue, witty exchanges and farcical situations, the play – which is written entirely in rhyming couplets of iambic pentameter – explores themes such as artistic integrity, elitism, intellectualism, and the clash of highbrow culture and lowbrow entertainment. That’s right: beneath a torrent of clever, laugh-out-loud moments lie sobering themes, plus a lively and intellectual debate about the nature and value of art. 

Barrie’s Talk Is Free Theatre (TIFT), which continually impresses with its nuanced treatment of complex works, is bringing La Bête to Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre Theatre on March 2-16, 2024. The production, directed by Dylan Trowbridge with Assistant Director Tess Benger, presents the opportunity to see this comic gem interpreted by a talented ensemble. Set in 17th-century France, the plot unfolds as a refined and haughty playwright dedicated to high art named Elomire (played by the Dora Award-winning Cyrus Lane) and a gifted but boorish and self-absorbed street performer (the titular beast) named Valère (Mike Nadajewski), vie for the favour of Princess Conti (Amelia Sargisson). Rounding out the cast are Katarina Fiallos as Dorine, Amy Keating as Catherine de Brie, Madelyn Kriese as Marquese-Therese du Parc, Justan Myers as De Brie and Courtenay Stevens as Rene du Parc. 

Thanks to the Princess’ patronage, Elomire and his touring acting troupe lead an affluent life and hold a high opinion of themselves. However, when the Princess decides to have Valere join Elomire’s troupe, the company is pressured into performing one of his plays, Béjart, Elomire’s second in command – played by Richard Lam, who brings his well-known versatility as an actor and musician to the portrayal – tries to maintain a cool head in the face of the beleaguered Elomire’s outrage. An inevitable and cacophonic clash of egos and ideologies ensues.  

For Lam, the allure of portraying Béjart in La Bête was irresistible . . . and almost too perfect. He is currently pursuing a certificate in Conflict Management and Mediation from the University of Waterloo, so he could draw immediate parallels between himself and his character’s role as a peacemaker and the mediator of his troupe. “He’s practical and solution-oriented. He feels like he’s always at the risk of being othered,” says Lam of Béjart. “He finds himself managing many big personalities and some very delicate situations. It’s definitely the kind of thing I find myself doing in real life all the time – in helping theatre artists with conflicts they encounter in the process of making art.” 

Unpacking the character’s historical context, Lam notes that Béjart is an amalgam of two longtime members of Molière’s theatre troupe: brothers Louis and Joseph Béjart. (Almost all of the characters in the play are representations of real-life associates of Molière.) Louis was a close collaborator of Molière and played important roles in several of his plays. Meanwhile, Joseph was also an actor, as well as a playwright for Molière’s company. Lam describes them like he describes himself and Béjart, as “peacemakers and (metaphorical) bridge-builders” and also “pioneers of our art form and our profession. I love the idea that David Hirson has immortalized them, and I can bring them to life for an evening even 375 years after their time.”

Lam also finds close parallels between the debates in La Bête and contemporary controversies, such as that surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) and its role in artistic creation. “I feel like I’m having this debate with myself all the time, particularly now that every day it feels like I’m seeing some new AI art creation thrust into my face,” he admits. He appreciates deeply the multi-faceted role of art to comfort, improve, challenge or entertain us. In this light, the proliferation of AI-generated art raises a litany of questions about the authenticity, intent and value of such art: “Is something art if it just does a good imitation of art? Can it be art if it’s not being guided by the communicative intention of an artist? Is AI capable of anything more of imitating – of showing us the mean average of our confirmation biases?” 

Lam concedes that his many questions are born of a “war” he has with himself every day, when he scrolls social media. But these self-same questions lie at the heart of the philosophical duel inside of La Bête. “It may seem a little odd to look for answers about AI in a story about a 17th century French theatre troupe, but I feel the conversations are very connected!” – especially because technology has made this “a critical time for everyone to think about what, exactly, they feel the role of art is in society.” 

A second reservoir of questions powers another current running through La Bête, which addresses the significance of language and its reliability in representing reality “Are the words that we speak and write and use invaluable for defining the world that we live in?

 Or are they just hot air, a distraction from the reality in front of our faces, which words can never really capture?” This leads Lam right back to AI: “Will AI ever actually describe the world, or will it only do an impression of us?”  And Lam finds the irony irresistible: “I think of the way AI is penetrating our lives, and I wonder what it means now when so many of the words we are consuming are produced by a math equation that can put words in an order that ‘seems right’.”

Asked what distinguishes this TIFT production of La Bête, Lam credits Trowbridge’s unparalleled passion for the play, which he brings to the work that the actors do every day. “It’s very easy to get excited about the rigour and skill the text demands, because Dylan’s fire for it is really infectious,” Lam observes. “He makes us all better, and in many ways . . .  he’s the heart of our production.” He also lauds Nadajewski’s “virtuosic turn” in his portrayal of the titular “bête”, Valere: “he does things in this show that I never could have dreamed of someone doing onstage. It’s an audacious, hilarious, shocking, wild, skillful and free performance. I’m so lucky to be able to see it from so close! I really feel like I have the best seat in the house when I’m watching him do his thing.”

Lam’s own career to date has been rich, varied and recognized – although he is too humble to dwell on it. With a repertoire spanning from classic roles to innovative adaptations, Lam reminisces about the diverse range of experiences and pivotal moments that shaped his artistic path. These include portraying Laurie Laurence in the Stratford Festival’s Little Women, and his original adaptation of The Little Prince called The Little Prince: Reimagined, for which he was nominated for two Dora Awards. “I’ve been really lucky to have a consistent career in the theatre,” he shares. “Some special projects I’ve been a part of include playing Milky White the Cow in Talk Is Free Theatre’s production of Into The Woods, which I got to do in some really varied and interesting places around Ontario.”

He traces his theatrical origins to the “formative moment” of seeing the movie Once in 2007. 19 years old at the time, he was living in Paris studying political science and wondering what to do with his life. “That movie captured the magic, the bittersweetness, the glory, and the despair of creation so well,” he reflects. “I felt all of those things inside me, and it led me to decide that I wanted to try auditioning for theatre school.” Years later, he would get to perform in the stage musical version of Once, and that is when he discovered his passion for playing Irish folk music. “That story keeps giving me gifts!” he smiles. An accomplished musician who was a member of James King and the Midnight Hours, he often performs music in his stage roles. For instance, he was a part of the original cast of Soulpepper Theatre’s acclaimed Spoon River, the musical adaptation of Edgar Lee Masters’ 1915 anthology of free-verse poems, which enjoyed four separate runs in Toronto, plus featured at the Charlottetown Festival and in an Off-Broadway run in New York City.

Lam’s experiences as a musician influence how he thinks about the core situation of the company of actors in La Bête. For him, the idea of a chosen family of artists most closely resembles the experience of being in a band: “These people work together, travel together, live together – they’re bonded in the same way that bandmates bond.” And the risk depicted in La Bête is that this “family” might break up and be lost. With his band James King and the Midnight Hours having disbanded during the pandemic, Lam finds these stakes both tangible and weighty. He well knows the challenge to “keep a group of people together, united in the same goal and marching in the same direction as life and circumstances pull you apart. When it ends, as my band did, it feels like a huge loss, with real heartbreak… My band in real life didn’t stay together . . . but maybe during this time onstage in La Bête, I can live out changing that bit of my own personal history! At the very least, I can fight for this family to stay together every night.”

In closing, Lam invites audiences to connect with him further by following him on Instagram @rickyslams and to listen to James King and the Midnight Hours’ album ‘Moonchild’, available to stream. “It’s the last thing we created before breaking up, and even though it’s a bit of a bittersweet memory, I’m still so proud of it.”

La Bête is on stage at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre Theatre March 2-16, 2024. Click here to reserve tickets. 

© Arpita Ghosal, SesayArts Magazine, 2024