Abraham - Michel Jonasz

We went to see a French one man show, Abraham,  by singer Michel Jonasz. 

It was a sad, touching one act play, which was really very well played and the text was very good.  I wasnt crazy about the songs but I am never a big fan of musical theatre. 

Oncle Vania - by Tchechov

24 heures dans la vie d'une femme - theatre

We saw 24 heures dans la vie d'une femme tonight (English title must be 24 hours in the life of a woman) by Stefan Zweig. It was a surprise for me, E called me late in the day to propose going to a play. I usually try to read the plays before we see them so I can follow along effectively, but this wasn't possible. It was pretty hard to follow, as the text used a lot of passe simple and imparfait du subjonctif, neither of which are conjugasions used in everyday French. What's more, it's actually a short story converted into a one-act (hour and a half) play, with huge long monologues, so I had to be very carefully focused to capture everything.

The text was really amazing, the acting was good but not great. The theatre seats were benches with no back support and my back aches from sitting at close attention for so long. But it was a really nice surprise for the evening, and makes me want to move Stefan Zweig up on the reading list.

la Vie Devant Soi - theatre

We went to see La Vie Devant Soi, which won several awards at the Molieres this year. It was really good, and to top it off we had a great time exploring the Indian groceries and restaurants afterwards on our way home.

Tartuffe - theatre

We went to see Moliere's Tartuffe at the Theatre de l'Odeon tonight. It was really good, and the theater was a real gem, old and ornate, great seats, and very enjoyable. It helps that I've already seen and read this play, but the production was good and the evening emotional and wonderful.

Le Dieu du Carnage

Last night we went to the theater with a friend of ours to see Le Dieu du Carnage by Yasmina Reza.

The big success of this play has been the presence of Isabelle Huppert who was indeed superb. The play itself was well acted by all, and although I first left the theater thinking it was "okay" upon reflection it's better than that - and deeper too. I think there is a lot of what she does that takes time to sink in to get the full meaning.

Enjoyable, and not a terribly late night due to the fact that there is no intermission (bonus on a weeknight!)