12 January 2011, Strasbourg - These days five euros doesn’t buy you a lot, certainly when it comes to entertainment in the evening; bottle of wine perhaps, a slice of cheese from the Cloche au Fromage boutique but certainly not a night out. That is, unless you are prepared to trek out to the CREPS campus in Koenigshoffen this week.
The hidden theatre
CREPS, which stands for Centre Régional de l'Education Populaire et du Sport, offers up its 124 seat theatre, known as the Cube nOir, to amateur dramatic groups from around Alsace for a nominal fee. This means that ticket prices here are usually somewhat lower than at similar venues in the city centre. The catch of course is that just finding the theatre can be a bit of a problem. The campus is not served by any form of public transport, so it is necessary to drive, cycle or walk a good half kilometre from the nearest bus stop to get there.
The theatre is managed by a local collective called “Trois Quatorze” who list some, though not all, of the upcoming am-dram shows in Strasbourg on their website, as well as promote the participation in and attendance of amateur theatre in general. So for locals interested in acting, helping behind the scenes or watching amateur theatre in Strasbourg the Trois Quatorze website should be your first port of call. www.trois14.org
I am happy to say that, this week at least, it is worth the trip out to the CREPS campus, which incidentally is where people normally only go to pick up qualifications for current and future sports-related careers.
Subverting the genre, care of Jean-Paul Alègre
The show in question is called Tout va pas bien, which roughly translated means “Everything is going wrong” in English, and is based on the work of French playwright Jean-Paul Alègre. Alègre is known primarily for two pieces that won him two major national prizes, the Prix de Lyon for Lettres croisées (Crossed letters), in 2003, and the Prix Emile Augier for Agnès Belladone, en 2004.
Lead by director Laurence Guillemaut the company of actors who call themselves “Quai des Prunes”, for reasons known only to themselves, have chosen however a selection of Alègre’s lesser known pieces upon which to base their production. Happily the show is not a verbatim recital of Alègre’s works, as one could argue the selected piece’s are perhaps best suited to the medium of radio rather than theatre, but are instead an interpretation that take his ideas one step further.
Throw in a bit of Shakespeare and the result is an entertaining ensemble of skits and sketches that challenge our traditional perception of theatre. Although only just over an hour in length it is hard to fault the show and location at such an austere price.
Tout va pas bien runs until Friday 14th January at the Cube nOir, CREPS, 4 allée du Sommerhof, 67000 Strasbourg. To reserve seats call: +33(0)6 78 43 68 78
Howard Hulley - Howard Hulley is a freelance British writer living and working in Strasbourg, France.
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