Before the internet came along, the Wednesday ritual was to buy the Officiel des Spectacles or Pariscope to track down the plays and performances of the moment. Of course, we often went for the big-name headliners.
Many years later, thanks to the internet, we can use social media, blogs, and discount sites to discover many shows, whether they’re well-known to the general public or not. What a joy to spark one’s curiosity! Going to see a show or a play is good for the soul, so above all, don’t miss out on it!
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The Knitting Tea
Ah, that famous Sunday afternoon when you feel like you don’t know what to do, thinking “I’d love to go there, but I should do this…” The result? We end up on the sofa with the remote, watching TV. What if I suggested a cozy spot in Paris where you can be entertained, enjoy a snack, and see a show, all in 3 hours?
Knitting Tea (Tricot-thé) is the new weekly concept by Anthony D, a true knitter, whose goal is above all to bring people together around a shared passion, simply to have a good time together.
I admit that when I first heard about this project, I was a bit surprised, thinking that knitting was so has-been.
I discovered, much to my surprise, that some bloggers meet up from time to time just to knit on a specific theme, just for fun, and they absolutely love it!
The concept:
It’s open to everyone, from beginners to experienced knitters; it’s recommended to bring your own supplies, and since it’s Sunday, drinks and pastries will be on the menu. Not to mention a raffle with some yarn to be won and a show featuring artists you wouldn’t suspect were knitters.
Cathy’s take:
In all honesty, I had a lovely time and I’m definitely planning to do it again. When I arrived, some friends of mine were already there; I knitted my little heart, as it was Valentine’s Day, and without bragging, I was the first to finish!
As promised, we had our snack with tea and/or coffee, plus pastries to our heart’s content before the show began. Christian Lebon, the spiritual son of Charles Trenet, sang songs from the French repertoire, then made way for Anaïs, a young singer and actress, Martine Superstar from the Toc toc Show, Thierry Paul Valette accompanied by a violinist, who read us his poems, and finally, singer Stone and her husband Mario d’Alba took the mic.
The atmosphere was so friendly that when we left, singers and knitters alike, we gave each other air kisses while promising to see each other again very soon. My next challenge: making myself some mittens!
Knitting Tea (Tricot-thé)
Every Sunday starting February 14, 2016
from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Prices: 20 €
Le Biz
18, rue Favart 75002 Paris_
Langevin: Creator of Illusions
How does one become a magician, why does one become an illusionist? Before being famous and recognized, Luc Langevin, a curious child, developed a passion for physical sciences, and it was only a few years later that he would obtain a Master’s degree in Optics.
It was in 2009 in his home country that the young Canadian made his first TV series and took the opportunity to present his illusionist talents to the public. Success was immediate, and his career was launched!
The story:
After his Parisian stint at the Casino de Paris in February, he presented his show Langevin, Creator of Illusions to the French public for the first time. Composed of science and magic, we find our magician in his laboratory inspired by the world of the visionary Jules Verne, overflowing with new ideas for our greatest pleasure.
Cathy’s take:
The first word that comes to mind is modernity. No more rabbits coming out of hats, no more assistant looking like a cabaret dancer; here, the assistant is a person chosen at random from the audience, and not just from the first two or three rows of the room—I must insist on this detail!
Our artist is a warm, generous man, his tricks are truly impressive, and it doesn’t surprise me at all that he is now recognized as the reference and symbol of the renewal of magic shows.
Langevin On tour throughout France until December 3, 2016 More info here Back at the Casino de Paris starting January 18, 2017
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Les éclats du bal (Fragments of the Ball)
What’s great about theater is surfing through different universes and discovering, as is the case here, a Russian author, Daniil Kharms, a poet who disappeared in 1942 and a precursor of the absurd, as one can read in his biography. Being someone who doesn’t know much about Russian literature, I was delighted with such a discovery.
This show, slightly confusing at first, becomes very endearing thanks to the two actors, Aline Lebert and Harold Crouzet.
They masterfully handle the Russian playwright’s texts, navigating through absurdity, humor, tenderness, and choreography, while playing a very large number of characters, each more confusing than the last, in the form of mini-sketches, all in front of three painted canvases. Theater, dance, painting—the tone is set.
Cathy’s take:
I so loved this moment of theater; when I got home, I wanted to know more about this poet, and looking at his bio, I found a sentence that summarizes well what I had seen on stage just a few minutes earlier.
This sentence described Daniil Kharms as a “jolly desperate man.” If you go see the play, you will see that it’s exactly that. Viewed yesterday as an enemy of the Stalinist regime, the playwright is today very appreciated in Russia.
Les éclats du bal Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:00 PM, until March 18, 2016 Duration: 1h15 Prices: from 10 € with BilletRéduc L'Auguste Théâtre 6 impasse Lamier 75011 Paris
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Annabelle is a Comic Woman
Her real name is Annabelle Nakache; this young comedian, author, and actress is no beginner.
This theater artist has also written numerous sketches for television, and if you were watching France 2 on Wednesday, January 20th, you might have seen her acting in the TV movie Flic, tout simplement alongside Yves Rénier and Mathilde Seigner.
Today, she returns to the theater with a brand-new show mixing stand-up, sketches, and impressions.
The story:
Annabelle reviews our lives with great bursts of laughter: the killer questions, our more or less well-accepted complexes, the passage of time, love, and even death. All presented by delusional characters straight out of her imagination. Oh really? Not so sure…
Cathy’s take:
The jokes, the clichés, and especially the impressions made me laugh quite a bit. Annabelle is dynamic and commands the stage well because she makes fun of our daily lives, and every spectator is forced to recognize themselves in at least one of the characters.
The public was there, and we all embraced her universe and the antics of the Comic Woman.
Annabelle is a Comic Woman Fridays at 8:00 PM and Saturdays at 8:15 PM, until March 25, 2016 Duration: 1h00 Prices: from 10 € with BilletRéduc Le Lieu 41, rue de Trévise 75009 Paris
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Barbara and the man in the red suit
It’s been a little over eighteen years since the “long brown lady” left us. But since an artist never truly dies, it’s through today’s talents that we happily rediscover all this musical richness that is part of our national heritage.
The story:
Music professionals and insiders are well-acquainted with pianist and accordionist Roland Romanelli. Those who admire Barbara have encountered him at least once in one of her shows.
This man, who accompanied the singer both on stage and in life, tells us with much restraint, tenderness, and respect about the surprising and amusing woman she was in daily life.
And it is his current partner, singer Rébecca Mai, who interprets with great sincerity about twenty songs that remind us just how superb Barbara‘s repertoire was.
Cathy’s take:
The songs interspersed with the narrations of Roland Romanelli and snippets of interviews from the singer make Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt‘s impeccable staging an endearing show.
One feels good in this universe where the piano, the light panels, and not forgetting the rocking chair, take a beautiful place in the story and in the space. Without revealing everything, the ending is masterful, and I even had a small tear in the corner of my eye—that says a lot, while Melle Bon Plan, a big fan of Barbara, was crying her eyes out! This show is a beautiful tribute to the woman who will forever remain among the giants of 20th-century French song.
Barbara and the man in the red suit Tuesday to Saturday at 3:00 PM or 7:00 PM depending on the day, until July 16, 2016 Duration: 1h20 Prices: from 14 € with BilletRéduc Théâtre Rive Gauche 6, rue de la Gaité 75014 Paris
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“Butterflies are Free”: the heart has its reasons…
Broadway has come to the Théâtre Rive Gauche with the adaptation of Leonard Gershe‘s classic “Butterflies are Free,” a comedy with sometimes dramatic accents, about the difficulty of existing, of being oneself despite one’s handicaps, one’s secrets. The way others look at you, this inevitable judgment, this pity that daily affects the desire for freedom and the will to change one’s destiny.
In a small Parisian apartment, an encounter happens. Quentin, a fragile and mysterious young man, has desires for independence, for freedom. Quentin puts his emotions into music. His melody, he shares with his eccentric neighbor, Julia, intrepid and liberated.
She finds in Quentin the determination, ambition, and honesty that she lacks. She thinks she is free. Yet, she hides her own fragility behind some frivolous, wild attitudes, in an exacerbated “I-don’t-care” attitude. And yet, Quentin and Julia appreciate each other, complement each other, do each other good, and feed on each other’s hopes and dreams.
Butterflies in full flight but whose fear of ending up at the bottom of a net is felt, despite an unshakeable joy of living. In the middle of this almost improbable duo, an anxious mother wishes to see her son return to reason to come back to a warm, reassuring home, but one rocked by illusions. A protective, suffocating, and yet so endearing mother.
It’s a hilarious battle that takes place on the boards: the young woman perfectly at ease with her body and her nonchalance versus this sarcastic, frightened mother, who forgot herself to protect her child. Quentin has a heavy secret that doesn’t prevent him from moving forward despite the obstacles. He accepts it. And his mother? Not sure. Perhaps this over-protective figure represents his heaviest handicap.
“Butterflies are Free” surprises with its humor, despite an underlying message filled with doubt, fear, and vulnerability. Anouchka Delon forms with Julien Dereims a touching, funny, moving couple, sometimes absurd in this (too?) obvious antimony.
The feminine energy is the major asset of this comedy that feels like a ping pong match, where each bounces the ball, hits the net, and sometimes falls, but only to rise again better. A play with indisputable charm but which sometimes lacks finesse in its remarks. Treated on the surface, the question of handicap and the difficulty of being free drowns in some superficial preoccupations but in no way detracts from the quality of the interpretation and the text.
Butterflies are Free Directed by Jean-Luc Moreau, adaptation by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt With Anouchka Delon, Nathalie Roussel, Julien Dereims, Guillaume Beyeler Tuesday to Saturday at 9 PM Matinee on Sunday at 3 PM Until May 29 Théâtre Rive Gauche 6, rue de la Gaité 75014 Paris
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article written by Cathy, Julie Brando and Mademoiselle Bon Plan
