Invited to assemble the production in Boston by the well renowned American Repertory Theatre, French Director Arthur Nauzyciel, transposes the action in the era of 1960’s Americana. The scene is set with the backdrop of the Kennedy administration, the emergence of Pop Art and the birth of the Television generation. Accompanied by a jazz trio, the fifteen actors play with the strength and elegance of the language and revive the power of the Shakespearian verb. Arthur Nauzyciel observes the U.S.A to expose the illusions that arouse the drama that unfolds.

This will be the second French tour of the production and you have the possibility of catching the performance over three nights at the Théâtre national de Bordeaux en Aquitaine. The performance is in English with French subtitles.

Running time: 3h30 with intermission

When: 30 / 31 March – 01 April, 2011
Where: TnBA – Salle Antoine Vitez (Grande salle), 22 quai Sainte Croix, 33800 Bordeaux
Cost: €5 – €25

Purchase Tickets

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After l’Opéra de Paris, The Alwin Nikolais Centennial Show stops in Bordeaux at the invitation of the Opera National de Bordeaux and TNBA. This enchanting artist, a former puppeteer, pianist and curious about everything kinda guy, has enchanted generations of audiences.

 
Ten young enthusiastic dancers will perform the pieces, Crucible (1985), Kaleidoscope suites (1956), Tensile involvement (1955), Temple (1974), Tower (1965).

When: Dates and times:

• Tuesday – 17/05/11 – 14h30 and 20h30
• Wednesday – 18/05/11 – 14h30 and 19h30
• Thursday – 19/05/11 – 14h30 and 19h30
• Friday – 20/05/11 – 14h30 and 19h30
• Saturday – 21/05/11 – 20h30

Where: TnBA, Salle Antoine Vitez , 22 Quai Sainte-Croix, Bordeaux
Cost:€10 to €35

Get tickets here and here. 

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That succeeded with “Forbidden Fruit” directed by Andy, staged for 2 nights at Paul’s Place in late November with a cast of five. Then Debby Cranston took on the reigns whilst Andy was back in the UK, and she produced and directed her adaptation of HG Wells’ “The Red Room” at the end of February 2013.

Their aim is to carry on staging short pieces every few months and with their HQ and ‘Theatre’ being Paul’s Place. Feel free to join them as as a part of the cast, crew or audience ! The invitation is open to anyone who is interested in English speaking drama – whatever Nationality you are.

The group is currently looking to produce a play that still has a role free (male aged 25-35ish!).

If you fit the bill, please contact Andy urgently:

The dates for this play haven’t been finalised yet but are likely to be the first or second week of May.

For further information, you can contact the group via their Facebook page.

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Before that I had travelled and holidayed in France and lived in Paris during the previous twenty years and finally myself and my husband, the actor and director Conor Irwin, are moving lock stock to Bordeaux to share our work and passion with new people and hopefully settle down in a city we fell in love with immediately on our first visit!

So who are we and what are we about?

I’ve worked in performing and theatre for 16 years now, as a choreographer, a producer, an actor and a writer. I even met my husband at an audition shortly after moving to London from my native Dublin, after he had seen me a decade earlier on stage back home- all very romantic! We have grown together sharing our passions for theatre and storytelling, his coming from a physical theatre LeCoque background, mine from dance and musical theatre.

This all blossomed into a collaboration with an amazing Irish friend called Jude Schweppe, who also found herself in London and dissatisfied with the industry as it stood. We are doers. We believe if you want to make art, make it. Don’t wait for someone else to give you the opportunity you crave, go make it! This is the philosophy upon which JuSt Theatre Company London was founded in 2011, and it is this hard working, passionate dedication to great art and storytelling that Conor and I wish to bring to Bordeaux and the expat community! If they are interested, that is!

We founded an international company to reflect the diverse artists and theatre enthusiasts we discovered in London from all over the world, as we hope to now discover in Bordeaux. As CRB cleared teachers with a bilingual background and with extensive directing experience our goal is to reach out to ex-pats in the Bordeaux region and create a calendar of workshops, training and theatre study for the experienced and not so experienced performer, from pre-teens to teens to adults. We noted through research, and expat forums a real lack of the kind of theatre training, experience and opportunity in Bordeaux that we have enjoyed in London during our many years there and from students on Erasmus to long time bilingual resident family, we believe our theatre company can expand to include the kind of fun, inspiring and innovative drama teaching that would be welcome in such a city. We would also arrange visiting workshops from specialists in various areas from puppeteers from WARHORSE to international acrobats and even award winning film makers.

But this can only happen if we feel it is something the Bordeaux community want to embrace. Sessions would all be in English, but the company would be run bilingually, so one way to look at it might be as a respite for ex-pats who miss English language theatre or a good english language practise opportunity for French counter-parts looking to experience physical theatre for themselves.

Thats all for now- let us know what you think and thanks for listening.

THE BODY & THE SPACE

Conor Irwin is a critically acclaimed international director and actor. Born in Dublin, Ireland where he initially studied at The Gaiety School of Acting, he completed his training in LeCoq based physical theatre at the London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA) under Thomas Prattki. he previously performed and studied Commedia dell’Arte in Italy under Antonio Fava and Mime at Ecole de Mime Corporeal Dramatic et Theatre de L’angue Fou in London under Corinne Soum and Steven Wasson.He has appeared in productions by Dreamthinkspeak Theatre Co., StoneCrabs Theatre Co., Ichiza Theatre Co., The Gate Theatre Co.,  Zeitgeist Theatre Co., The FootPrints Project – Casa Latin American Festival, Gilt & Grime Theatre Co., Missfit & Burning Houses Productions, The IGNITE Festival at The Royal Opera House. He directed the critically acclaimed revival of Ourselves Alone in 2011 and the 2012 summer tour with JuSt Theatre Company London of which he is a company member.
www.conor-irwin.com

Stephanie Frances Irwin (nee O’Brien)
Stephanie is a published author The Price of Experience, award winning actor (See website) and a theatre/film producer with JuSt Theatre Co. & JuSt Films of which she is co-Artistic Director. She has used her fifteen years of experience with young people in the Arts and her background in teaching through theatre to choreograph major youth opera’s and charity gala performances, to produce tours and shows and is the educational tutor/mentor to the S.T.A.R.T theatre programme at The Lyric Theatre London under Hollie Evans, working with underprivileged and vulnerable young people in the Greater London area.
www.stephanie-obrien.com

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Well, after 8 years in the chaotic, frenzied melting pot of London Bordeaux was certainly a culture shock, but in every sense a good one! My family are originally from Dublin, but my brothers and I grew up attending the French Lycee in South Dublin so French was my natural 2nd language from about 4 years old. It was certainly random to be running around Dublin as a kid speaking French with friends but it left me with a life long passion for France, French culture and the French way of life that has never abated.

Luckily, my husband felt the same. After marrying at an ancient church near my families summer home in the Charente in 2013, Conor, my Dublin born new hubbie and I ventured down to Bordeaux for a couple of days rest after what had been months of hectic planning for the wonderful weekend that had just ended. It took just one 4am walk through the empty, balmy streets of the city centre for us to realise how natural it felt being in Bordeaux, as if we had always been here, which I know sounds trite but we were newly married and perhaps searching for that next step, when suddenly the obvious answer was staring at us.

“We should move here” he says to me in the dark, as we plodded along Quinconces in flip-flops.

“Okay then” I replied,, and that was that.

So, after spending years in London, fighting to get ahead in the difficult theatre and acting world, years of struggling to stay on top of impossible rents, financial constraints, juggling jobs, friends relationships, after a five minute chat one night, we were gone in four months. It was like a whole stage of our lives had ended in an instant and this ocean of possibility had appeared in the form of this beautiful, ancient and inviting city.

The proof was in the pudding as they say. Within weeks of arriving in February 2014, with no friends or allies in Bordeaux and Conor still learning the language, he had secured teaching work at a Language school and we had found a great, affordable T2 in the beautiful Jardin Publique area of the city centre, a size and location we could NEVER afford in London – so already things seemed easier. 

In those ways the move was effortless and exciting. But of course, being a social animal, and despite the fact I had degrees in French, was a graduate of Sciences-Po Paris and bilingual , it took time for me to accept my new temporary role as Suzy Homemaker, building our home, decorating, learning to cook, investigating the city as no job materialised,so I loved it to a degree, but the struggle to secure work for me, proved disarming – I had never been short of work offers before but this was different, and having no friends yet also proved a strain while my husband threw himself into his new job only to become the boss of the language school within months of arriving!

In general, everything about our lives here is better, no question. We eat cheaper, we live simply, even on greatly reduced euro incomes we have eaten out more often in a year here than in the previous 7 or 8 being freelance and self-employed in London. We have the promenade, the park 50 yards away, the opera, bars, the beach 30 minutes by car, the TGV, and almost every conceivable store we had in London so shopping is no problem – oh, and direct flights to london for about 30 euros a pop if we are quick and book early. Cheaper than my weekly Oyster card! And thats something else, it feels now when we are in London, we are just popping home for shopping or friends or weddings, there is no longer that frenzied, chaotic panic that the manic city is getting the better of you, while you flounder. Now, I love being in London because when I get on the plane I know what I’m returning to in France is worth the huge transition we made.

So the negatives? Taxes are a killer sure, everyone remarks on this, but having spent the first 3 months of my first pregnancy this year, HORRIFICALLY ill, I have to admit the standard of care I got in hospital, in total despair, unable to move, speak, function, with no private health insurance or NHS to help me, was amazing. At 18.00 euros a day I enjoyed the privilege of amazing prenatal support from a brilliant team who literally saved me when I thought the illness would kill me, or the baby. So, in that sense, in terms of medical care here alone, and for however long it lasts in France, I say OUI! Ill pay the high taxes if basic care means a private ensuite room at 18 euros a day and I can afford to raise kids in an affordable, kid friendly, cultural city!

I wish I had known making friends at this age would be trickier though, before we came. Im not shy but Im not great for showing up alone at meet and greets to chat to strangers! Mores the pity! I am no longer young-ish, twenties and a student,but I’m not quite the older, married sedentary type either (hell, I’m 30!!) so finding friends as precious as the ones I found in London is tricky but I persist in the belief the right people come along sooner or later and it just takes patience – plus there’s Skype and everyone loves a beach holiday so we are never short of friends visiting.

I could write endlessly about how I feel at this point in Bordeaux, on the anniversary of our first year, pregnant with our first child and building a new life for the third time since leaving university but I don’t feel I have to. Bordeaux is a city that grows on, in and around you. We went out for dinner the other night only to stumble across a huge Swing dance party in the Chartrons and just joined in! So the spontaneousness that seems lacking now in London still feels exciting and accessible here. There is space here to take risks, try things, experiment and discover which in London became harder and harder, despite how ever hard you slogged in that amazing city, which we still love by the way.

Which brings us on to the long term dream for our new life here.

Though Ive no doubt we will continue to teach English, write novels (books 2 and 3 nearly done!) and lecture for some time to come, we are sowing the seeds for an amazing project we believe will bring the best of our experiences in theatre and the arts to the whole expat community of Bordeaux and in a friendly, open and accessible way.

Conor and I have created the Drama Studio Bordeaux which launches this June with a single one-day workshop in English (though French is no problem as we work through the body mostly, not the voice) to reintroduce adult learners to their passion for theatre and physicality. Conor has years of experience and training in both LeCoque in the UK (see website) and traditional training in Ireland and while he builds an exciting, fun one-day workshop course for adults (17 and up), Im busy sharing our vision with as many like-minded people as I can and locating the perfect space, with the dream of owning our own space one day and creating an arts centre here to rival some of the finest found in London or Paris.

So at this point I don’t know what the future holds for us, no, but I know now, unlike in London, the absence of stress is worth it. The absence of that knot in the gut has made it all worth while, regardless of the pitfalls, the language barriers or cultural foibles. The Drama Studio represents a way we can bring all these years of skills, experience on London stage and the talents of our gifted friends from TV, film and theatre to the Aquitaine, to share all of it with the creative, open people we know would love it, and take great things from it. Acting and the study of the body, is not about finding the next movie star, though that would be fabulous, but it is about finding the artist within, and unlocking all the potential talent, many of us have hidden dormant behind the facades of our everyday lives.

Come on this journey with us and be apart of something very special this coming Summer. If you want to be kept posted on dates, prices and subscriptions to our workshops, or if you just have a question, than just email us at dramastudiobordeaux@gmail.com and let us know! We welcome 17 years and above and look forward to discovering some wonderfully talented artists and performers here in Bordeaux in the coming months and years.

The new site is presently under construction at www.dramastudiobordeaux.wix.com/2015 and you can find us on facebook at Drama Studio Bordeaux.

Besides that, I think the key thing I’ve learnt from Bordeaux, having come from London is this – life doesnt have to be a struggle. That’s what people here have shown me. From how they are with their kids, to how they handle their work, to how they prioritise holidays and vacation time. It can be a challenge at time, sure, but when the quality of life can be this good (and not just for a select, wealthy few) with time to think, rest and be present in our daily lives, well than that I think that is something worth shouting about.

You may remember Stephanie from a previous article she wrote a couple of years ago on the blog. Chapeau to you and Conor for making the dream a reality! – B.Expats

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Located in the South-West of France, in the city of Bordeaux, it has been created in 2007 by Eddy Radburn English teacher, playwright and stage director. He receives each year adults, seniors,
teenagers and children, beit all year training from mid-September to the end of June, or through 5 day total immersion periods during the school holidays.

 English teacher, totally fluent in French / trainer for adults and children for over twenty years, Eddy was challenged into using his theatre experience in 1997 when a young student asked him to write a play in English for the group. The result was so well received that he suggested it to his adult
students, always with the same success. Eddy finally decided to specialize in this method of education and so created in 2007 English Com’Eddy Theatre.

Since then, every year, “made to measure” sketches and plays for the new season are written, insisting on the importance of gestural body language and taking great care in choosing a vocabulary rich in everyday expressions where ever possible. Building deliberately exaggerated comic situations for the language learner to improve and better understand. Com’Eddy Theatre creates full audio support for each sketch or play in order to encourage and facilitate personal work. Its motto being: “We have fun, but it’s serious!” So why stop there?

In France, most language establishments be it public or private are not yet  ready to open up to an approach to language learning so far from the classic methods. But with “Com’Eddy Theatre” using the right pedagogic tools, this has changed.

For Eddy Radburn, a “living language” has to be enjoyed, to be seen, tomove, to interpret, and to come alive.

Theatre is: “To learn a text by heart “.
Theatre is: “To move or talk or both, to interact with your partner”.
Theatre is: “To play, to put oneself in situation, to embody, comprehend”
Theatre is: “To repeat, again and again until it becomes automatic,
integrated and finally becoming second nature”.
Theatre is: “A chance to employ the idiomatic, expressions of everyday”
Theatre is: “To gain confidence to vanquish timidity and put aside your
inhibitions, to be able to speak loud and clear in public”.

“This is what I teach. This is what I enjoy doing. I create, it is not a job it is a passion. And I am more than pleased with the end results. It is a method that I have been employing for many years and the fact of having students expressing their gratitude years later spurs me on.”

So now we are now planning to open a “French Theatre Class” for all who would like to improve their French in an active and convivial way.

The evenings chosen are on Thursdays from 7.30 to 10.pm. Assisted by Karinne Michel Radburn, française, biographer and ghost writer, who has  participated fully since the creation of Com’Eddy Theatre. You can call her on 06 68 49 05 73 if you want to know more.

An extremely important aid to the learner’s advancement are the, MP3 audio files that I create as a support to every sketch or play I write. The student simply downloads the files on to their documents directly from my website. This is a great advantage for the learner to work at home as well as
in the classes.

My principal function is to teach a language through the bias of theatre and not the contrary. However, when faced with students of a high level, the quality and richness of text is increased accordingly as is the theatre science. When you think about it the whole world for better or worse is like one enormous multi-cultural theatre.

William Shakespeare wrote:

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances…. etc.
 

2 bis rue de la Benauge
33100 Bordeaux bastide
Tram A. Arrêt Place Stalingrad
Our website: www.coursanglaisbordeaux.com

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Here’s what he had to say about his upcoming project…

Tuperhero Films – Fred Cavender, director, screenwriter, superhero

So on top of looking for people who are talented and motivated to act in my films in and around Bordeaux, I have to add “speaks fluent English” to the list which sort of narrows it down a bit.

The post Calling all local English-speaking amateur actors! appeared first on Bordeaux Expats.

It’s open to all curious people, with or without past theatre experience, all levels of English are accepted. It takes place at Les Coqs Rouges Association, in the city center, Quartier St. Eulalie. The course is created by Marco Ferreira, a Portuguese theatre maker based in Bordeaux and is designed to be as open as possible to give the opportunity for the participants to try and share their fears and desires through simple poetic theatre exercises. To enjoy with a playful attitude, spontaneity, openness and delight.

To discover freedom and ask yourself, when was the last time you did something for the first time?
You are invited to come and find your answer.

More information contact marcoferreiratheatre@gmail.com
Or
https://marcoferreiratheatre.wordpress.com (in French)

The course happens every Thursday from 20h to 22h at Coqs Rouges 14, Place St. Eulalie 33000 Bordeaux 

First lesson is free. Come and try it!

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Passersby are hard pressed not to notice this beautiful atypical building which is located on the Quai de Paludate near the Gare Saint Jean.

According to this article by 20 mins, the inauguration of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine offices for Economy and Culture is scheduled for the end of June.

The imposing building will host three cultural agencies linked to the region, Frac (Regional Fund for Contemporary Art), the Oara (Artistic Office for the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine) and Ecla (Writing, Cinema, Book, Audiovisual). The construction itself is a technical and architectural feat, and will most definitely be the stand out emblem of the Euratlantique district.

The structure will be the first thing visitors see when arriving by train from Paris. The building measures 120 m long and 37 m high and is designed by Danish architect, Bjarke Ingels of the BIG agency. He has also been chosen by Google to design their future headquarters in California.

A CULTURAL HUB FOR THE REGION

The Meca will be open to both the public and for professional use.

The initial idea is to bring together these cultural agencies, to make it a cooperative cultural creation. It will be an extraordinary cultural hub with artist residencies. The center will be open to surrounding cities, high schools and other associations.

Not only will this cultural hub provide outlets for creative talents, there will also be one of the most beautiful rooftop terraces in Bordeaux open to the public. And last but not least, a restaurant with a capacity of 56 people will be open five days a week.

The district around the Gare Saint Jean is indeed changing!

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