Perrault’s Tales

WhenPerrault gets carried away…

In this lyrical fairy tale, Charles Perrault’s heroes step out of their separate stories to cross paths, lose their way and reunite over the course of a single adventure. Cinderella, Tom Thumb, Donkeyskin, Puss in Boots and Sleeping Beauty interact within a fast-moving story shaped by magic, burlesque humour and the art of transformation. Félix Fourdrain’s score — supple, colourful and deeply theatrical — unfolds with a keen sense of stagecraft, weaving together dialogue and musical numbers, while Valérie Lesort brings its fantasy to life through a world inspired by pop-up books, filled with silhouettes, masks, puppets and delicate cut-paper imagery. Under the baton of Dylan Corlay, the Orchestra and Chorus of Les Frivolités Parisiennes revive this rare gem from the early twentieth century. Blending humour, cartoon energy, visual poetry and a hint of darkness, this lyrical theatre piece for audiences young and old conjures up a world in perpetual motion, where childhood is never sentimental and the magical always retains a shadow beneath its bright colours. A joyful and enchanting family event for audiences aged 8 and over.

Exploring further

Seven Tales (Michel Tournier, 1984): Tournier does not modernise the tales; he shifts their perspective. The stories retain their childhood power, yet also become more unsettling fables about desire, fear, identity and the passage from one world to another.

Beauty and the Beast (Jean Cocteau, 1946): The tale transformed into a dream, with iconic images such as those arms emerging from the walls like living candelabra, and those slow-motion sequences and stage magic. A lesson in artisanal enchantment, where artifice hides nothing but, on the contrary, becomes the very condition of enchantment.