"The goal is to get lost"
, warns Juliette Colin who directs and co-signs the play inspired by Émile Zola's book.
Objective achieved last night with two hundred privileged guests invited to enter the Bon Marché Rive Gauche.
The entrance is through the basement, the opportunity to see a... water damage, workers are on the site.
We hesitate: are they part of the show?
Hostesses hand out black masks and badges with a character's name and instructions:
"Please wear them until the end, put your cell phones on silent mode, and don't touch items in the store.
Choose to follow a character”.
There are eight of them, including Caroline, the heiress of
Bonheur des Dames
and Octave her husband, as well as a bourgeois client, the director's "dearest friend".
The show is very, very loosely adapted from Zola's novel.
"In the book, Caroline has an accident, in the play, we imagined that she was murdered and we are looking for the murderer,"
says Juliette Colin.
Le Bon Marché, created in 1852, is considered the first department store in the world.
Nathalie Simon/Le Figaro.
We therefore lead the investigation in the footsteps of the protagonists, witnessing epic scenes, particularly on the second floor of the Bon Marché.
Previously, we were treated to a glass of sparkling wine in which a slice of orange was soaked.
Champagne will conclude the visit (the price of the ticket -75 euros- is dissuasive. There is no price for children).
“It's night, there is music and lights, it's an extraordinary experience,
had warned Fanny, a saleswoman shortly before the show.
It lasts two hours, but you will not see them pass.
Staff attended rehearsals on Monday and Tuesday.
At first, we wisely follow Alphonse, the treasurer of the store, taking the risk of bumping into the kerosene lamps placed between the aisles, then, very quickly, we lose track.
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“I want to go out!” asks a lost young woman.
“Who is he?”
asks another.
A couple giggles.
Two potential customers admire Chanel shoes.
At night, all the actors are grey.
Despite their painted faces and shimmering costumes.
They are not allowed to speak to the public.
“Scouts” all dressed in white and guards in dark outfits watch over the approximately 3000 m2 of surface area of the
Bonheur des Dames
.
"It's very cinematographic
," says Juliette Colin, who orchestrates scenes in period decor.
Caroline and Octave argue.
The latter's lover, an eccentric fashion designer, swears eternal love to her.
Émile Zola discovers photography.
The Bon Marché accountant lines up figures in a notebook.
Gustave Eiffel is visiting "at home", the store is celebrating its 170th anniversary.
Sometimes the actors, around thirty, find themselves isolated.
There is a lot of hide and seek.
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Juliette Colin had already offered “100% immersive theater” in a castle in Ile-de-France, in September 2021. The exact address was kept secret until the last minute.
Titled
Last Engagement
, the show looked like a life-size game of Cluedo.
The mystery was already there.
Resumption from September 2 until December 30, 2022, Friday and Saturday evening. Reservations on
lebonmarche.com