Gay Paree

This weekend, I took a short trip to Paris to see some work in the Festival d'Automne and to try and conquer Paris for Proto-type. Although I can report that Paris is still French and not flying the flag of Proto yet, it was a fantastic trip filled with croissants, cafe creme and just a little bit of brouilly / cote du rhone...

One of the main purposes of the trip was to see Young Jean Lee's The Shipment which was playing in a Paris suburb at a theatre called the Theatre Genneviellers. My good friend Mikeah (and frequent Proto-type collaborator) is in the show, and he kindly arranged a ticket for me. It was good to see the piece as there has been a lot of hype about it and I know its touring everywhere. Interesting to see the kind of work that makes an impact internationally. The Shipment is structured in three parts (with no intermission): the first is basically a minstrel show updated to the current context of the performance space, the second is a sort of 'after school special' kind of parable performed in an obviously over-the-top robotic fashion, and the third is a domestic drama set in an upper-middle class apartment (presumably in New York). The performers were fantastic -some really detailed and energising performances from all of them in different ways. There were also a few stand out moments, like one section which included a beautiful song in three-part harmony. I left feeling somewhat puzzled though by some of the writing and the direction in general. I was really not sure how to respond to the material - was it meant to be lampooning something in the first half or just doing a stand-up comedy/minstrel performance? Was the third part meant to be a kitchen sink drama? It felt like it was veering into the realm of soap opera but I couldn't see any commentary on the form. The first half was meant to offend, I think, but I couldn't tell where the commentary was there either. The middle part seemed an attempt to inject a bit of playfulness / stylisation into the piece but, again, wasn't sure if I was meant to care about these people or what they were saying really... And the link between the parts didn't exist in any strong way for me. Its puzzling because Young Jean is probably my favourite contemporary writer - she has written work that has absolutely blown me away in the past. Not sure why I was left so puzzled this time. I'm sure I just need to digest it a bit more because most of the people whose opinion I trust have said such good things about the piece. Need to see it again I think.

A lot of my experience of Paris this time around was centred on some of the street culture of the city. I filmed these high-school age boys doing a dance called Tecktonic while having a meeting at the Palais de Tokyo. It is a crazy, jerky, arm based dance that is a derivative of vogueing but as if you are on speed or are a robot. I found it mesmerising and could have spent all day watching them go at it. Some real attitude in the form. I love, as my friend Ben said, that on the streets of Paris the big craze is dancing (not gun fighting, stabbing or spitting as in other cities I've lived in/live in).

I also kept seeing some lovely street art in the Marais where I was staying. Here are a few snaps from my phone:






I particularly like that last one. Something very endearing about seeing an 'olde worlde' man in black and white on the side of a building. Its like he is peaking through time to visit us. These bits of art served as my markers in my walks around the city; navigation points that helped me find my way home each night.

I left Paris wondering about what Europe means.... England and France could not be more different, although something about the cultures of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands feel very related. I wonder if England is really in europe at all culturally. I think the English could learn a lot from the European approach to cafe culture and food, and certainly to the arts in general. I was literally bombarded by high quality art work everywhere I went in Paris that seemed to be well-supported and well-attended. What is England doing wrong that the arts are so poorly attended and valued? Maybe we all need to eat more croissants?