Take that Glastonbury

This is how we do outdoor music around here.

There was a festival of theatre in Saint Laurent this weekend. I couldn't go yesterday because of the choir AGM, but we booked into two shows today. The first one was at 2 pm, so we decided to treat ourselves to lunch at La Bonbonne beforehand, which was excellent as usual. We really like their menu of small and slightly larger plates that you can share, and the garden is just lovely.

Both plays were one-person shows and both, as it happened were war-themed. The first was about the Spanish civil war, in the context of the actress's family. It felt like a bit of a "first draft" as it was quite static, but she's apparently developing a larger version with a cast. The second, Effroyables Jardins, was a story about a small episode in the French Resistance in WWII and was quite a tour de force, while being somewhat hard to follow. Returning home, we discovered it was based on a novel published in 2000 that has also been made into a film -- if we'd known about that beforehand it would have made more sense to us.

The programme was well thought out though; between the two shows there was time to go to an hour-long "musical siesta" in the river gorge that divides Saint Laurent in two. Not that anyone was inclined to sleep once they heard Joris Ragel's guitar playing. He was really good. He did start fairly somnolently, but then revealed serious blues slide guitar skills, honed in New Orleans. He had some good stories to tell as well.  One of them resulted in him deliberately writing a tune that uses all the most difficult guitar techniques, so it is nearly impossible to play. Yes, he had to stop after a few bars to retune the guitar and then start again.  See extra 1 for one of the odd techniques he used, and the tune is here. And if you're up for some sliding, it's here. It was the best part of the afternoon!

In another bit of free time, we briefly visited R's art gallery where there is a remarkable exhibition of paintings by Yseult Houssais. See extra 2. You probably wouldn't want these on your wall at home, but they are fascinating. They really reminded me of medieval depictions of limbo and hell. Oh, and we also visited Claire Charpentier's open studio (extra 3). 

All in all, it was a fulfilling and enriching few hours, enjoying new flavours, learning new bits of culture, and discovering new art.