174 stories by "Laura Cappelle"
After more than two months of occupation by arts workers, the Odéon Theater returned to business with a prepandemic production that feels out of step with the current moment.
After two canceled Paris runs, a highly awaited production of Robert Walser's "The Pond," starring Adèle Haenel, finally made it to the stage in Switzerland.
A growing movement within French theater is reclaiming the work of forgotten female artists, and reviving a lost concept: le matrimoine.
Performing-arts protesters locked out by the pandemic have occupied playhouses across France, but drama is not allowed. Cue the "agoras."
Theaters have been closed in Belgium since October. An on-camera production was born out of necessity, but its look at Nazi history offers a fascinating blend of theater and cinematography.
Florian Zeller has found success in the theater and as a novelist. Now, his first movie as a director is nominated for four Golden Globe Awards.
A Paris playhouse has developed a program of one-on-one "consultations," delivered by its artists while the theater is closed.
The art form, usually on the fringes of French theatrical culture, finds itself at a sudden advantage: Puppet shows' young audiences are still allowed to watch live performances.
Before his directorial debut in France, with Mondonville's "Titon et l'Aurore" at the Opéra Comique, the virtuoso puppeteer discussed the challenges of working in a pandemic.
Rather than let finished productions go to waste in the locked-down city, exasperated artists are continuing with closed performances for others in the industry. If everyone's "working," it'…
Coronavirus restrictions have shut playhouses and concert halls. So our critic went to Mass to get her fix of music, choreography and drama.
In theaters before the second shutdown, and online once playhouses were closed, actors and comedians have tried to cheer up France.
Delayed from the summer, France's biggest stage celebration was further curtailed as restrictions again hit the country. That made the moments of grace that were possible all the more powerf…
"The Guermantes Way" at the Comédie-Française sets contemporary concerns aside to carve out a place in the theater's repertory.
When the choreographer decided to stop flying, it raised eyebrows. But a year and a pandemic later he has become a master at virtual rehearsals
Jérôme Bel may be the only choreographer w…
This year's edition of the festival, held under social distancing measures, is devoted to works made on a limited budget by under-the-radar Italian theater-makers.
Most plays aren't masterpieces. As audiences emerge from lockdown and return to normal, there's comfort in seeing a show that may not be great, but isn't bad, either.
The firing of the British artistic director of one of Paris's most famous venues exposes fault lines between globalization and local tradition.
The company Les Tréteaux de France has been meeting the challenges of social distancing with a variety of measures, including voice-overs and unusual settings.
Audience members seemed to be asking one another, "Are we really doing this?" But the over-the-top physicality of "Ionesco Suite" was worth it.
A theme park's whiz-bang performances are an odd mix of high-quality production values and one-dimensional storytelling. Historians have long disputed the narratives.
The first professional production in France since stages went dark in March was a back-to-basics affair, but more memorable than many slick Paris shows.
Times have changed, but the revered French theater director has always stayed true to her beliefs.
Our Paris theater critic looked though a new online archive to discover what was on offer for French theatergoers in 1970.
Several French theater companies, closed in the coronavirus outbreak, have rushed to put content online. Much of it is underwhelming.
