Culture & Arts

This Season in The Princess Grace Theatre: personal plays and hilarious masterpieces

The Princess Grace Theatre continues its season with no fewer than twelve shows until May. A rich, varied and highly anticipated program. A piece from a Woody Allen film, ‘Husbands and Wives’ (extended for a second date on the 30th of April) kicked off the second part of the season in January. Several more large pieces of theatre are being anticipated in the upcoming months. The ‘Comédie Française’, with comedians Muriel Robin and Gérard Darmon, is part of the program. For the past four years, the theatre has sought to turn its attention to more personal pieces from authors and move away from boulevard theatre. Nevertheless, the programming retains a certain openness: audiences are no longer composed solely of regulars. With pieces that break the 4th wall, the relationship with the audience is changing. This can be seen in the play Momo (with Muriel Robin and François Berléand) or The Spectacle of Antoine Duléry, real star of the small screen. We have selected four highlights for this season.

23rd of February: Time of the Meerkats (Le Temps des Suricates)

Time of the Meerkats (Le Temps des Suricates)
Time of the Meerkats (Le Temps des Suricates) Source: Princess Grace Theater

A play from Marc Citti, who also stars in the play, is a dark story. Mathieu and Édouard are played by Vincent Denard and Marc Citti. Cloistered behind the scenes of a representation of Hamlet, they question their existence, like the Shakespearean protagonist does. As the story progresses, their box becomes a place where the two men encounter manifestations of the outside world.  After the play, the 4th wall is broken. The lights come on and the audience can have informal exchanges with the actors and the director. A way to accompany the audience throughout the show and thus clarify some questions about the play.

-Thursday the 23rd of February, 8:30pm.

16th of March: Like a Rolling Stone

In 1965, Bob Dylan, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, wrote what would become a flagship of 20th century rock music: Like a Rolling Stone. Forty years later, in 2005, the critic Greil Marcus dedicated a book to him. Like a Rolling Stone, tells the story of Bob Dylan at a crossroads: the time the song was being composed. More than Dylan himself, it is a story which unveils the artistic process of musical creation. Directed by Marie Rémond and Sébastien Pouderoux, the play tells the story of Bob Dylan composing in the Columbia Records studios, surrounded by musicians and technicians.

Like a Rolling Stone
Like a Rolling Stone. Source: md1.libe.com

In summary, the evolution of this mythical song. Led by the young member of the prestigious troupe ‘Comédie Française’, the piece plays with genres by mixing music and comedy. After the performance, the theatre will present a concert by the Belgian band ‘Sirius Plan’, which revisits certain pieces by Dylan. A way to illustrate the issues raised by the play, including the creative process. The play thus goes beyond the institutional framework of Comédie Française.

-Thursday the 16th of March, 8:30pm. 

6th of April: Redo Everything (Tout à refaire)

The story of two friends who, on the terrace of a cafe, complain about the passing of time. The waitress who serves them offers to transport them back in time. An unprecedented experience that will make them realize many things. Philippe Lelouche (author) and Gérard Darmon (director) give us a delightfully personal comedy. A piece from a strong duo, this play is one of the most anticipated in April.

"All Over Again" / Tout à refaire
“Redo Everything” / Tout à refaire. Source: Princess Grace Theater

-Thursday the 6th and Friday the 7th of April, 8:30pm.

14th of April: Momo

Led by the Berléand-Robin duo, the piece plays with a surreal plot: a boy in a supermarket approaches a couple who he thinks are his parents, but the couple in question have no children. And the absurdities don’t end there. Sébastien Thiery, author and actor, decided to put a deaf person at the heart of the work, Patrick, the supposed son of the Prioux couple. Situational comedy which overthrows clichés makes up this hilarious play, at the Grimaldi Forum.

Friday the 14th of April, 8:30pm.

More to see

-The Lyons: Thursday the 9th of March, 8:30pm

-The Girl on the Back Seat (La Fillesur la banquette arrière): Thursday the 23rd of March, 8:30pm

-Come Back Tomorrow (Revenezdemain): Thursday the 30th of March, 8:30pm

-The Other (L’autre): Wednesday the 26th of April, 8:30pm

-Antoine Duléry does Cinema at the Theatre (Antoine Duléry fait son cinema mais au théâtre): Thursday the 4th of May, 8:30pm

-Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Qui a peur de Virginia Woolf): Tuesday the 16th of May, 8:30pm

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