Spectacles in the region appeal to the public

A hypnotic performance by Hula Hoop; danced tables revisiting the French cancan, the Spanish imagination or the disco; A mime and clown juggler embarking a few spectators in a frenzied music and dance issue. Or a singer performing the catchy refrain of Abba or Johnny Hallyday… to see the eyes and hear the thunders of applause, the 220 people present in the room this Thursday noon are won over.

Jocelyne, Sylvie, Aline and Iwona, for example, for whom this outing at the cabaret is a great first: “We did not know what to expect, but it’s great, enthusiastic these residents of Pas-de-Calais. We eat very well, the show is perfect. We will become ambassadors, and certainly come back! »»

A few tables from there, Dominique and Sophie tell: “Our employees had offered us this show as a birthday present and we loved it. Many quality numbers are offered, a bit like in TV shows. So, in turn, we decided to make them the same surprise with a day at the cabaret. »»

200 establishments referenced in France

This lunch-spectacle takes place far from the capital, in Licques, a town in Pas-de-Calais of 1,600 inhabitants. The local cabaret was born seven years ago, when Guillaume Cocquerel decided to transform his moribund restaurant into a place of shows. “I had welcomed some artists during meals, and I liked the experience,” he says. But there it was a bet that immediately worked. In three sessions, I already had 870 spectators. »»

Today, its 80 annual performances attract 15,000 people. If the image of the cabaret rhymes with the very Parisian Moulin-Rouge, most of the 200 establishments referenced in France are located outside the capital, sometimes in small towns: Kirrwiller (Bas-Rhin), Pont-du-Casse (Lot-et-Garonne), Charny-Oreée-de-Puisaye (Yonne), Vieux-Berquin (North), Bras-sur-Meuse (Meuse) (Maine-et-Loire)…

Work for artists, cooks and room staff

For the past fifteen years, the facilities have been increasing in the provinces, has observed Isabelle Lichtfouse, which represents the regional cabarets within the Ekhoscenes union and has the beautiful entrance, in Saint-André-Goule-d’Oie (Vendée). “A number of us wanted to set up a business in Paris, but the market is saturated, excessive rents. In 2011, we ourselves made this choice to go to the region by looking for a virgin place. »»

Others, such as the Moulin du Lac, in Trivy (Saône-et-Loire), have found the means to vary the pleasures. In 2019, Baptiste Nesme, a professional magician, and his parents enriched the card of their original restaurant.

Since then, the show has become their main activity. Sometimes the approach is almost militant. For a long time at the head of a Parisian address, Yohan Courtaud opened Angemont, in the Meuse, in 2021, “because I was born here and I always told myself that I would bring activity to it”. Successful bet: he has already moved for a larger room, 130 places, with Bras-sur-Meuse which makes a dozen people work, fully contributing to the local economy. A virtuous effect observed for many of these establishments which mobilize both artists, cooks and room staff.

A popular and renowned leisure

If the public responds, it is partly pragmatism. Spectators as organizers are delighted to find a popular and renowned Parisian leisure near their home. The campaign cabaret is also much less expensive. When a mill-red mill and a Crazy Horse charge their dinners-spectacles from 200 euros, in the region, the magazines appear from 70 to 90 euros, including meals. Like that, “Monsieur Tout-le-Monde can go there, even if he is less fortunate,” says Isabelle Lichtfouse, of the beautiful entrance.

Spectators who do not confine themselves to white hair. “At noon, the elders, who often come with associations and come back regularly, are our best ambassadors,” notes Raphaël Porte, from Petit Paradis, located in Pont-du-Casse. But in the evening, in addition to individuals, “works councils rejuvenate the population, as is the bachelor party, in the spring”.

A remedy for sinistrosis

No sustainability if quality and professionalism are not there. Especially in the region, where to retain customers is vital, unlike major Parisian establishments which benefit from a tourist windfall. “It’s a real work, it is not enough to walk with a pen,” warns Raphaël Porte. Financial investment obviously has its importance in the kingdom of glitter.

In Licques, Guillaume Cocquerel spent 218,000 euros in the costumes and jewelry for his review “Fantastic”. Most of these establishments renew their show every year or every two years. And business thrives despite inflation and ambient gloom. As if these shows mixing song, dance, circus, music, mime, performance, even stripping, magic or travesty held the anti -sinistrosis formula. “Spectators constantly repeat it: we want to entertain each other,” says Baptiste Nesme. We make sacrifices on a daily basis, but there is no question of depriving ourselves for holidays or leisure. “The average basket does not decrease,” on the contrary, we would even sell a little more champagne, “notes Julie Soulard de la Ruche Gourmande, in Charny-Oreée-de-Euyaye.

The more difficult times, the more the cabaret seems to benefit from it. The provincials would even be “more determined to have fun, to live the moment ,, When the Parisian spectacle fits more in a form of “consumption”, Tony Florees, Circassian artist whose performances are used as a common thread in the Revue du Cabaret de Licques,.

Isabelle, Bénédicte, Michèle and Annie, who came with an imposing group of retirees from the banking sector, add: “There are feathers, dancers, laughter, but we come mainly for an atmosphere”, confide these regulars. Inside the cabaret, farewell greyness, cold and outside world. Make way for artists!

The Royal Palace, superstar precursor

204,000 spectators last year! It was necessary to have a little imagination to anticipate such a success in Kirrwiller, a village of 500 inhabitants located 40 km northwest of Strasbourg. In the 1980s, Pierre Meyer decided to transform his parents’ inn and dancing into a show with Bavarian or Spanish evenings, before buying magazines in Paris.

Today, the Royal Palace offers a show with 43 artists on stage and 8 numbers … “To make the public come back from year to year, we have to do very hard. This is also the reason for our investment in a 25 m out of 7 m LED screen. Our success has paved the way for cabarets in the countryside. The Royal Palace today makes 120 people live and Pierre Meyer has undertaken the construction of a 4 -star hotel.

A genre that has metamorphosed

Originally intended to eat or drink, the cabaret gradually welcomed fairground artists and ambulant singers. His current face, where the spectacle predominates, was fixed at the end of the 19th century. Two models then share the capital: that of the Moulin-Rouge, rather focused on a luxurious and entertaining music hall review, and that of the black cat, in a more songwalk and literary vein.

The traditional journal returned to the protruding facts of the year, but “this genre has evolved”, deciphers Camille Paillet, teacher-researcher at the Center d’Histoire Social des Mondes Contemporary, in Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis) “It is less and less political, more and more visual and is built by paintings, which do not necessarily have links with the others. The cabaret owes its longevity to its “form, which allows to embrace a fairly wide audience, believes Camille Paillet. It is a place of entertainment, easy to access, whose program is immediately understood, with music and effects that speak to the public. »»

For Ivan Rodriguez, from the Cabaret des Belles Poules, in Terranjou, “its attraction is also explained because it offers a space of freedom, non-censorship, self-mockery where you can still express themselves and laugh”. For a long time under radars, the cabaret is now interested in the Ministry of Culture, which carried out a study to find out the springs and needs. It is also eligible for the culture pass.