We saw, we loved « La Claque » at the theater
When: 11.09.2026 00:00
Where: 48.839319, 2.323170
Organizer: Admin
The story
1895 in a Parisian theater. Auguste Levasseur, chief of the claque, leads a troupe of accomplices who, mixed with the audience, are tasked with applauding at the right moments. An applauded play is a successful play, yet, two hours before a grand opening, Auguste is abandoned by his claque. He then charges Fauvette, musician of the orchestra, and Dugommier, theater manager, with finding replacements to save the evening performance.
There is only an hour and a half left before the start of the premiere to rehearse the novice claqueurs by performing excerpts of the show, which has no fewer than five acts, forty musicians and thirty set changes! The task is arduous, they are only three, and tonight, their career hinges on a single claque…
After Le Siffleur and its 600 performances, Fred Radix returns with a new show that tackles a subject and a character that have marked theater history and treats them with humor, musicality and historical anachronism.
The editorial opinion
Barely settled, we immediately enter the story and are addressed, since the fourth wall is broken. Yes, the actors speak to the audience and even give them orders. That's how we discover an entire facet of French theater history. Did you know that for a long time, performances were staged with a portion of the audience already won over? Professional claqueurs were a group of men and women hired by theater directors, tasked with applauding or booing. This lasted until the early 20th century and we get a taste of it with La Claque.
In this show, the audience
watches a rehearsal and must subject themselves to a series of exercises. Each
their task! For example there are the ticklers, they are hearty laughers, they laugh out loud, with throats wide open. There are the commissioners, intellectuals
who shout Bravos! What a success! Wonderful! The
cryers, on the other hand, are those tasked with loudly moving during a scene of
more or less intense drama. And then the booers who whistle to denounce the
show. We then let the story of Auguste Levasseur, Dugommier and Fauvette unfold its thread full of hilarious anachronisms
and clever winks!
In short, it's hilarious, ingenious and interactive. Everyone
laughs, we find ourselves smiling with our neighbor, raising our voice with
our neighbor in a joyfully focused atmosphere. Sa-vou-reux!
Tags: theater, interactive, historical, comedy
Source: https://www.paris.fr/evenements/la-claque-au-theatre-de-la-gaite-montparnasse-48709
Open in Vibelocate · Markdown