La cartoucherie

La Cartoucherie is a famous place in Paris, but I had never visited it until very recently. It's located in the Bois de Vincennes and used to be a munitions factory (hence its name in French). In the 70's, it was converted into a unique multi-theater complex under the management of Ariane Mnouchkine, a very famous French stage director. It's a definite must see if you love theater (check the program here).

Le Bataclan

Here is a very famous theater in Paris that I've been willing to show you for a long time, but I never managed to. As you can see it's really beautiful, but there are 3 trees in front of it and from spring to autumn/fall, there are too many leaves on these trees. I'm still not too happy with this photo, but at least you get to see something! Le Bataclan was built in 1864, it originally had a Chinese architecture (which you can see here) and it was originally a "Caf-Conc" (café-concert) where people could dance. Now Le Bataclan offers a wide range of  shows from rock concerts to stand-up comedy and still offers a dance floor from time to time. 

Théâtre du gymnase

Here is a theater I've been willing to show you for a very long time. But each time I tried to photograph it, they had scaffolding on it! Yesterday evening, I finally managed ! It's called Le Théâtre du Gymnase and it's a beautiful little theater. It was inaugurated in 1820 (it's located in the theater district, along what is usually called Les Grands Boulevards) and its facade has recently been totally renovated.

French Cancan is back!

Look at what I found this morning in my street! An ad for a French Cancan show that is going to take place at Le Palace (the equivalent to NYC Studio 54 in the 80's and now a theater) in March and April! The Cancan (that the Brits renamed "French Cancan") is a dance in which women show their legs and Petticoat which was very daring at that time (the Internet did not exist then, remember?!). This new show will be more compliant with the 21st century if we judge from this video teaser... It looks pretty good actually, I might fall for it...

Backstage

I already told you about my friend Silvia who gave up a secure career in the corporate world to become what she really felt like: being a comedian. Well, last evening I went to the premiere of her first one woman show at the Théâtre Bô Saint Martin, which was a real success. I was lucky enough to share the very last moments before she got on stage and since I had my camera, I took a few shots! Here is one of them, that I particularly like. Sorry if it's a bit of a personal post, but I really admire her for pursuing her dreams. Besides it IS a Paris photo!

The new Folies Bergère

The Folies Bergère theater is one of the oldest and mythical music halls in Paris. It opened in 1869 and was one of the first theaters to show nude women and to offer costumed numbers which apparently was previously banned by the law at that time. A lot of Paris art history took place there: Josephine Baker had a review in the 30's so did Maurice Chevalier, Mistingett, etc. Maupassant mentioned it in Bel Ami, Manet painted one of the most famous impressionist photos there (Le Bar des Folies Bergère)... to name a few. I was going to forget why I took a photo of it today... Simply because they just redid the facade during the summer (it was about time!) and it really looks neat now!

The sound of arias...

Running ParisDailyPhoto has undoubtedly many advantages. One of them is to allow me to meet and/or exchange with nice people from all over the world. But sometimes it goes further than that... Recently I received an email from a certain Florence, who follows PDP from somewhere in Asia (I won't disclose too much as she seems to be quite discrete on the Net!) and emailed me asking me if I would be interested in getting tickets for an opera arias concert in Paris!). You bet I was... So here I went last evening, at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées - a great theater located at Avenue Montaigne listening to Donizetti and Verdi. A big merci to Florence then, and to Marco Zambelli, the marvelous conductor who arranged for the tickets ;-)

Theater killed the video store!

It's not everyday that you can witness the opening of a new theater, and though, last evening I did! It's called le Théâtre Bô Saint Martin (Bo is a play on words with "beau" which means beautiful). It's not the largest one in Paris, but it's a real cute one, all nicely decorated (It used to be a video store before, hence my title!) Most artists who will perform there are stand up comedians, all aiming for fame, like my dear friend Silvia (second from the left, also on Facebook) who did not hesitate giving up everything to pursue her dream: being on stage (I so look up to people who are able to do that!). Now, let the show begin...

Curtain call!

I love this photo, even though it's not unique to Paris... Just so you still learn something about your favorite(!) city today, let me tell you that Paris has a very active theater scene, with about 130 theaters and no less than 300 plays and shows per week! The word "Orchestre" that you see in this photo means ground floor, "La Corbeille" is the first floor (second in the US)  and on both sides you have "Les balcons" (balconies). On stage, the right hand side from the audience viewpoint is called "Côté cour" (courtyard side) and the left hand side is called "Côté jardin" (garden side).

A night at Theater Marigny

I went to the Marigny theater last evening, a beautiful theater located in the lowest part of the Champs Elysées (very close to the Elysée Palace, the home of the President of the Republic). I took this photo from the inside, on the 1st floor, during the intermission (or to be honest, while I was leaving, before the end of the show,  because I really did not like it!). The sign says "salle Popesco" (hall Popesco) after the name of a famous actress who died in the 90's at 99.  

An evening in Québec!

First of all, thanks a million for all your nice comments yesterday; I've done my best to answer everyone, but I had to go to bed at some stage and I may have missed a few of you ;-) On a different note, last evening (Monday), I have been fortunate enough to be invited to the Théâtre du Rond Point des Champs Elysées to a very Québecois evening: a musical by René-Richard Cyr, based on a very famous play by Michel Tremblay called "Les Belles-soeurs". The whole Québec was there, including the 1st Minister, Jean Charest! A delightful moment in Canadian French which is always nice to hear (Canadian French is more or less the equivalent of American English compared to British English).

Chatelet Theater

Here is a pretty famous Paris theater, called Le Théâtre du Chatelet, located, quite logically... at Place du Chatelet. It's a beautiful theater, inside like outside, inaugurated in 1862 by the wife of Napoleon the 3rd (Empress Eugénie). They show a lot of music there, like operas or recitals and even musicals ; last December they had "the Sound of music", called La mélodie du Bonheur in French (happiness melody) and pretty soon (Feb 24) they are going to host Les César awards ceremony (the equivalent to the Oscars in the US)...

A cute little theater...

I have passed by this place many times thinking each time "this is really a cute little theater!", but never managed to take a proper photo (it's located on a little square with lots of trees that makes it difficult to take photos). Anyway, this time I'm pretty happy with the result. It really looks little a mock up doesn't it? FYI, it's Le Théâtre de l'Atelier located at place Charles Dullin (who was the art director of the theater at the beginning of the 20th century), right by Montmartre.

Carnaval 2011

I don't know if you remember, last year I took you to the Paris Carnival... A pretty small event (read the caption I made last year if you want to know why) but still touching and interesting. This year I chose to go to the workshop where some of the participants (the ones belonging to this theater crew) make - should I say "build"! - their costumes and outfits. It was very interesting to see them put so much heart into their work. I took several photos and did not know which one to choose, so for once I made a little patchwork.

Newlyweds?

Well if you think they look funny for newlyweds, don't be surprised... They are not really newlyweds, but actors - and they are not even just married if I understood the plot of their play correctly, they are just on the verge of getting married and scared to death! Anyway, I found them (Elsa Pasquier and Matheo Capelli) on the Seine banks today, promoting their play Dis-moi oui!, among dozens of other show people at "Spectaculaire", an exhibit dedicated to the upcoming shows in Paris this year. Clever idea.

Puppets Show!

A lot of big public gardens in France have a Puppets show. No miss Piggy, nor Kermit in there, but Guignol, a on Wikipedia)! Almost all French kids have attended a Guignol show at least once in their life ;-) One of the main Guignol Theater in Paris is located in the Luxembourg Gardens. And don't go thinking that there is no performance during winter... The theater is heated and there are performances on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays (more - in French - here).

Movie business!

Paris is a heaven for cinema lovers. Not only are there 95 theaters within Paris, but on top of that they don’t all show the latest blockbuster (you can see a lot of old good movies too). Moreover you can see most movies in their original language (version originale). There are 2 main networks (UGC and Gaumont) plus smaller ones like this one (Pathé) or MK2 and many independent theaters (visit Allocine to know more). A movie ticket costs about 10 €, but you can have cheaper deals if you buy a card or subscribe to a year plan that allows you to go as often as you want for 20 € a month (that's what I have). Despite piracy and VOD, the movie theater business is still doing pretty well : it increased by 4% this year (almost 200 million tickets sold).

An evening at the theater

I know you're probably expecting a Beaujolais Nouveau related photo, but no! I'm just back from a more cultural event: a play by Octave Mirbeau, performed at the Théâtre du Vieux Colombier, near the Place Saint Sulpice by the actors of La Comédie Française (probably the best troupe you can find in France - read more here). It was a real delight - the play makes fun of the Nouveaux riches and although it was written at the very beginning of the 20th century the plot works very well today. In the theater they also had a small exhibit of stage costumes. That's what I chose to show you today.

Parental Guidance suggested...

I apologize to those of you who will feel offended by this, but yes, you read it well : the title of the show by Florence Foresti (a very famous French comedian) featured in this theater is really Mother F%^&@# Of course for us French it does not really mean anything. It's just a word we hear a lot in American movies ;-) so we think it's alright to use it (even to put it up in lights at a theater!). Think about that when you swear in French; for you it's just a word, for us it can be most inappropriate...

A view on the Théâtre de la ville

You're looking at Le Théâtre de la ville, a theatre located at Place du Chatelet in front of the Théâtre du Chatelet from where I took this photo. The Théâtre de la ville was built between 1860 and 1862 after the plans of architect Gabriel Davioud. It then burnt in 1871 after the riots of La Commune, then rebuilt on the exact same plans (except the inside) in 1874. The famous French actress Sarah Bernhartd "rented" it in 1899 and gave it her name (until the German occupation).