Venue: Demarco Roxy Art House
Sometimes you just go to see a show without knowing what you’re going to get. The program notes for this were incomprehensible, but I liked the name…
The venue is an old church and the room we were in (main chapel) seats about 150. Again we were a small crowd of about 15. As soon as the first performer started speaking in French, two audients got up and noisily left the show. The entire performance was in French with no subtitles or translation provided (and nothing to note this minor detail in the programme). There are six performers, three male and three female. One gent plays the keyboards and occasionally has a speaking part. All of the other performers sing, dance and perform short sketches. It was like being transported to a French cafe in the late 1950’s.
The songs were all of a light French jazz style, with some delightful harmonies and some amusing little physical japes. I don’t think there was anything too rude in the show, and the dancers, all attractive, had a base costume over which they used hats and jackets to create each scene. It was a little disconcerting when the performers came and addressed the audience directly in a couple of their songs, but no response was required apart from a smile and applause at the end of each song.
I enjoyed this lunchtime (13:00) show as a relaxing way to pass an hour without having to worry about whether I was getting the joke or missing any slight nuance of a performance. If you are prepared to sit and listen to some very nice (and very French) looking people sing and dance for you, or just want to be transported to Paris for an hour, then this is the show for you. It’s probably even better if you understand the language, as I did catch a few interesting literary references during the spoken portions of the show. This would have been much better staged in a cafe setting where the audience could have little tables (with checked table-cloths?) and drinks and conviviality all round.
For booking details go toBrassens Et La Femme