So it's off, the cinemas have reopened, the theaters too. Finally those who wish and who can. This was the case for the European, with a “Back to Culture” evening. The artists were able to replay on stage again in front of a real audience. The opportunity for our journalists to visit some legendary rooms in the capital to meet a visibly happy audience.
AT THE ROUND POINT. "We weren't expecting so many people"
She starts hopping on the spot and lets her joy explode. "As it feels good to return to the stage, to find the audience," says actress Marion Mezadorian, her face reddened, after her passage on the boards of Point Virgule. We didn't expect so many people! The legendary Marais room, which specializes in humor, reopened this Monday evening for three exceptional free sessions.
The tonnage was limited to 50 people, instead of the usual 100 spectators. Félix Dhjan, Rosa Bursztein, Nadim, Marie Desroles or Alexis Le Rossignol, follow each other on stage. And the pleasure of playing is intact. "We didn't know if the audience was going to react as before, we were a little afraid of not seeing the reactions with the masks, but ultimately, people can remove it once seated, and it's going very well", notes Félix Dhjan, playing in the same theater just before confinement.
In front of the room with the burgundy red facade, on the sidewalk, the queue of spectators lengthens for the next session. "I missed the theater and the cinema a lot," stamps Camille, 22, who has just made a canvas with her friends and continues with the show. "Laughing at a video, all alone, in front of my screen, I couldn't take it anymore," admits her friend Laura. We need to have fun together! At the door, Antoinette Colin greets her guests. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are extremely happy that you are here this evening," says the owner of Point Virgule, who wanted to invite nursing staff. We disinfected the seats and we distribute hydroalcoholic gel to everyone. "
Inside, it laughs frankly. On stage, some test their new jokes on containment, others do not. The past months seem far away. However, the routine does not resume. Because from this Tuesday, the door of the theater will remain closed. Not profitable to play under these conditions. "We hope to reopen in mid-July," slips the director.
AT MADAME SARFATI. "I feel like a doe in the headlights of a car"
The neighbors may be making the head. Because at Madame Sarfati, the comedy club of the humorist Fary, close to the Forum des Halles, the crowd returned. On the terrace, you can sip cocktails while listening to the mix of a trendy DJ. Upstairs, the room decorated by artist JR looks like a submarine of "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea". Stand-up fans tramp, seated in a cabaret style, under a dim light. In this trendy place, open in November, the cream of humorists comes to swing his best jokes. And there is no question of revealing the set guests in advance. It is always a surprise.
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For the reopening, sure values were needed. Louis Dubourg plays the masters of ceremony announcing in turn Lenny M'Bunga, Jason Brokerss, Roman Frayssinet and Paul Mirabel, all very fit. “It is the first time that we have come back on stage after three months, warns Louis Dubourg in the introduction. When we stop for so long, we don't know how the recovery will go. I feel a bit like a doe in the headlights of a car. But no doubt. The public has come there to have fun and the laughter bursts out. "Humor is the best weapon when things are not going well, so given what we're going through, it's essential," insists Hélène, who came with a friend. And then coming here is a sign that life has resumed. "
A EUROPEAN. "I have no joke"
Suddenly, a little after 7:30 p.m., a joyful “boom” resounds in the middle of the rue Biot (Paris, 17th century), a stone's throw from the Place de Clichy. A rain of golden party favors then comes dancing in the air. At the European, one of the Parisian temples of humor, we celebrated the reopening of the theater as we celebrate a new year. On the front of the room, the theme of the evening was hammered, black letters on a white background: "Back to culture". The mention “full” was affixed in the morning: the 200 or so tickets put up for sale on a 350 gauge to comply with the rules of distancing were all sold.
"I have the impression that the profession is more afraid than the public", breathes Sébastien Beslon, the director of the hall, watching the spectators queue in front of his establishment. Show pros find themselves after months of absence and struggle not to throw themselves into each other's arms, spectators obediently put on their masks as one puts on a satchel: it reigns in the street like a sweet back-to-school atmosphere classes.
Spectators fold well thanks to health safety measures. "You must keep your mask on until you are seated indoors," we are told. It is 8:16 p.m. when the first round of applause rings out. It is charged with unprecedented electricity. On stage, the patron of the hall and Fanny Jourdan, co-producer of the evening, speak before the parade of the dozen comedians, musicians and mentalists invited to this "reopening show". "We missed you," they slip, throat a little knotted.
In the middle of his inaugural speech, Sébastien Beslon turned the room back on and indicated, on the ceiling, somewhat special neon lights: "These are germicidal lights which allow us to disinfect the places before and after your visit, a world first" , slips the director. The objective is to reassure the public. But without imposing a heavy atmosphere. "Masks are not compulsory during the show," we also said to the public before the start. In the room, an overwhelming majority are about to laugh with their faces uncovered. "I have no joke," bluffs Bun Hay Mean, the first humorist to launch the festivities.
King of the improv, this former Jamel Comedy Club challenges a couple who takes out their bottle of hydroalcoholic gel during the show. "Do you disinfect yourself during the show?" But you know that the only people you have touched from the start are ... yourselves! Donel Jack'sman, Tania Dutel, Paul Taylor, Verino… His fellow humorists take over. The hugs or microphone exchanges that usually punctuate the passing of witnesses between artists on a humor tray are replaced by more discreet "shakes", fist against fist. Comedians test new jokes "after 102 days without leaving my house at night," calculated Paul Taylor. Despite the slightly sparse rows due to health standards, the atmosphere is hot.
The valves are linked. The Covid-19 and containment obviously cut the lion's share among the themes addressed. But the artists, accustomed to bouncing on the hottest news, have already found even more recent subjects like this exit of Patrick Balkany, Sunday, at the Fête de la Musique. End of the show, spectators are invited to leave the premises by "block" to avoid crowds in the hallways of the theater. In the basements, the humorists find their spirits. "I was really scared before going up," admits one of them. "But I missed it all too much ..." smiles one of his colleagues. Next European poster show: the comedian Kheiron will present his show all summer from July 3.
AT THE GREAT POINT VIRGULE. "I came out of solidarity"
In front of the Grand-Point-Virgule theater (15th century), a masked agent welcomes the public with extreme attention. "Do you have your ticket?" "He launches in a suave voice to the groups a little disoriented. All received a free invitation this Monday, June 22 to attend a series of shows stopped in March because of the coronavirus crisis. "It was important for us to celebrate this takeover of the theater," said Hamel Khalfi, the operational director, smiling. It is a taste, with samples of our performances, before the reopening in mid-July. We set it up in two weeks! We invited our loyal spectators but also caregivers and firefighters. "
So the staff is onion this evening. The security guard presses gently for hand washing with hydroalcoholic gel and the counter lists the instructions, smiling cheerfully. “Leave a space of one place with people you don't know. "
In the room, the atmosphere is electric. Colette, 76, stamps on her seat. "I can't wait. I came in solidarity with the artists, ”she whispers under her mask. Cries cut her off. A costumed man has just come on stage: "We are so happy to find you!" he gut himself. When the public responds with a thunderous "us too", giving this evening the allure of a rock concert. One by one the artists follow one another with punchlines linked to the Covid. Comedian Fredérick Sigrist makes tears laugh with his "pangolin has become the most dangerous species in the world".
At the end, some artists even take out their cellphones to film ... the public. Jérôme Daran, who is impatiently awaiting the resumption of his play "Desperate Housemen", enjoys. "I was afraid that nobody would come but they were there, so energetic! It was great to be several artists on stage. There was no competition, as you can sometimes feel on a set, but only benevolence. As if, after all these difficulties, we wanted to support each other together. And the spectators crowd in front, as before the crisis, a sign that they had a good evening. This is where we meet Mélinée who is exulting. “I don't know who were the happiest tonight, the artists or us. It was like a kind of embrace with the audience, so powerful. "
AT THE THEATER OF THE CITY. "It was important to show that we are going to the theater, this evening"
“Few theaters are embarking on the adventure of opening now, thank you for being there. At the foot of the stage Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota, the director of the city's theater. For its restart, Monday and Tuesday, the place does not do things by halves and offers twice "La Veillée", two sleepless nights of theater, readings and dance to which we can devote from 7:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. morning at Espace Cardin, a stone's throw from the Elysée Palace, all for free, but by reservation.
It all starts at 7:30 pm with “Tenir Paroles”, a piece of choice, a collective evening of poetry readings and texts written after the “poetic consultations” given by local artists, but also scientists and caregivers during confinement. The principle: "a 20-minute telephone interview, a quarter-hour open discussion and then 5 minutes of reading depending on what was said," we are told. Poetic prescriptions sometimes follow, such as a poem to read every day, for example…
"For three months, 6400 consultations have been given, details the director, and we will continue, it is a kind of memory of the moment that we try to train". It emerges from “Keeping the word”, an evening in three tables of one hour each, a very strong impression of touching a finger with a multifaceted experience but shared around the world, the words and concerns come from the whole planet consultants have called India like Vietnam, the United States, Brazil or Lille…
Read and told, chanted, proclaimed, interpreted, poems bring beauty and depth, respond to words and evils, loneliness, uselessness, separation, doubts, but also the time stolen, or given, by this moment. They are in French, but also in Arabic or Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, languages that we do not understand but which cause a certain emotion and this sensation of embracing humanity at once.
There are about twenty of them on set. In the room, a hundred can be. Seats are covered with black fabric to form islands of seats for one, two, three or four people. Masks and gel at the entrance, barrier measures are strictly applied. At the exit, opinions are divided. Louis is disappointed. Having often consulted during confinement, he does not find the "strength" of these moments. "On the phone, we only have sound, not image or music, and the imagination is stronger," he breathes. For those who would like to consult and try to do it in person, dancers, actors and musicians in white coats offer for the first time face to face around the theater. We recognize them by their white coats, it is from 4 p.m. to midnight.
"The three tables are not equal," said Elisa, who was "very critical" of the second, "too easy", "impressed" by the first, "reassured" by the third. She came with Dominique, a friend from Hauts-de-France, less severe. They discuss ... "It was important to show that we are going to the theater, this evening," said the latter. "This is life, the theater, we see it in what we are offered there, it is good to see how art can make us live and nourish us", breathes Elisa.
They will not stay for the rest, reading the poetry of Houellebecq (midnight), the show "Ionesco suite" (1 hour), "We will not go to paradise tonight", according to "Hell" by Dante (3 hours) and finally a sensory walk at sunrise (5 hours). Neither do we, but it's a repeat this Tuesday with a more musical program.