They call themselves a “humorythmic” duo, and even if dueling drums it isn’t knock-your-socks-off entertainment, it’s a nice way for a foreign visitor to enjoy some Paris basement theater since there are no foreign words—indeed no words at all—to get in the way.
The show consists of two guys—Yann Coste and Sébastien Rambaud—pulling each other’s chain and monkeying around for 75 minutes in playful competition with their percussion instruments. It’s a fun mix of teenage musical prankery and accomplished adult drumming.
It’s light, it’s un-extraordinary, it’s well-conceived, it’s a nice bit of basement theater (it can be warm down there). It ain’t Molière (see below) but it’s entertaining in its simplicity. And it finishes by 9:30pm, so you still have time to enjoy dinner as one of the many small restaurants just around the corner in the Montogueil Quarter.
Thursdays and Saturdays until Dec. 22, 2011. 19€. There are typically last-minute tickets available at the door, and the theater is small enough to sit anywhere, so it’s not too much of a risk to just show up at the door at 7:45pm. Or call 01 42 61 89 90 for reservations.
Fills Monkey at Le Sentier des Halles, 50 rue d’Aboukir, 2nd arrondissement. Metro Sentier.
Nearby eateries and drinkeries
If looking for an eatery after the show (or without the show), begin around the corner on rue Léopold Bellan to see if they’re still serving at Le Domaine (#36, simple and southwestern), La Mauvaise Réputation (#28, contemporary), or best of all L’Hédoniste (#14, bistronomy). There are plenty of drinkeries in the Montorgueil Quarter.
And now for something completely different:
The Comédie Française at the Petit Palais
Paintings, sculptures, documents, personal objects, props and models from France’s most important institution for classical and repertory theater, the Comédie Française, are on display through January 15, 2012 at the Petit Palais. The Comédie Française was founded by Louis XIV in 1680, seven years after the death of Molière, yet it is still considered “the house that Molière built” since the great playwright’s own troop and plays set the stage for its success. The current main stage theater of the Comédie Française was built in 1799.
The Comédie Française at the Petit Palais, avenue Winston-Churchill, 8th arr. Open Tues.-Sun. 10am-8pm, Thurs, until 8pm.