Say “cabaret show in Paris” and everyone immediately thinks of the Moulin Rouge. People who’ve been to Paris once or twice might also mention the Lido and the Crazy Horse. But what if I told you there’s a cabaret that was around long before all of them, that its show is nothing short of spectacular, and that it sits right in the heart of the Latin Quarter? I’m talking, of course, about the Paradis Latin, and in August 2019 I got to experience its show together with my dear friend Ronen Sas.
Paradis Latin: On Stage Since the Days of Napoleon
Before I tell you about the show, I’d like to say a few words about the history of the Paradis Latin. It all started in 1802, when Napoleon decided to build a new theater on Rue des Fossés-Saint-Victor, in the heart of the Latin Quarter. The theater opened in 1803 and quickly became famous for its popular shows. It turned into a hugely popular night out, where ordinary people could come face to face with figures like Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) or Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870). But all good things come to an end, and during the siege of Paris in the war between Prussia and France, the theater burned down.
In 1887, during the preparations for the 1889 World’s Fair, it was decided to rebuild the theater, this time on Rue du Cardinal-Lemoine. The job went to none other than Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), and in January 1889 the theater reopened. Over the following years its show slowly took shape as a mix of singers, dancers, acrobats and entertainers who specialized in physical comedy (slapstick). At first the club did quite well, but over the years the Latin Quarter lost its lead in the show business to Montmartre, and the club faded away until it closed in 1894.
Over the years, the Paradis Latin building housed all kinds of businesses, including a brasserie and a painter’s studio, and none of them did particularly well. In 1973 it looked like the end had come for the old theater building, when it was bought by Jean Kriegel, a French real estate developer who wanted to tear it down and build apartments in its place. But then a small miracle happened: Mr. Kriegel discovered Gustave Eiffel’s forgotten theater hall inside and decided that you don’t demolish a historic monument like that. Instead, he decided to renovate the building, and in 1977 the club reopened as a cabaret.
A few years ago, a man named Harold Israel took over the management of the place, and in 2019, to celebrate 130 years since the cabaret’s reopening, it was decided to launch a completely new show. The show was created by the famous choreographer Kamel Ouali (born 1971), whose previous show, Le Roi Soleil, about the life of Louis XIV, was a huge success.
The result, in Kamel’s own words, is “a show completely different from any other show in Paris.” Ronen and I showed up on August 5, 2019, to see if it lived up to the hype.
My Experience at the Show
Since we’d decided to test the full package, dinner and show, the two of us showed up at 7:30 p.m. outside the club, which is a short walk from the Cardinal Lemoine metro station (line 10). We waited only a little while before going in, and during that time I noticed that most of the people waiting with us were speaking French. I didn’t see many tourists, apart from a Japanese couple dressed as if they were headed to the Oscars (I, to my shame, had lost the jacket I’d brought especially for the occasion at an airport hotel in Nantes).
Shortly after we arrived, we were led to our table, the champagne was poured and dinner began. It’s a very French meal, I’d even say bordering on cliché.
I can certainly understand why the owners do it, but I found the menu a little boring. That doesn’t mean the food itself was bad, of course. Quite the opposite, it wasn’t bad at all, but it wasn’t much different from what you’d get at a decent bistro in Paris. For a starter I chose the escargots, which were good, and I even managed to convince Ronen, who had never tasted snails, to try them (I think the escargot fan club just gained a new member).
During dinner, a singer took the stage together with dancers and a cellist who was not bad at all. To my surprise, many of the songs weren’t French at all, but a selection of American pop from the last few decades. At first that surprised me a bit, because I’d expected songs in French, but when I looked around and saw that I was surrounded by French speakers, I understood. They’re not looking to hear chansons; they love whatever comes out of the American pop factories. Dinner went on, the Chateaubriand arrived (decent, but no more than that), and for dessert I ordered a sorbet that was pleasant. Meanwhile the singer kept singing, and the cellist even gave a solo performance of his own that was not bad at all.
I have to admit that somewhere toward the end of dessert, a small crisis set in. Ronen and I looked at each other and asked ourselves: is this the whole Paradis Latin show? Sure, the singer was not bad, and neither were the dancers and the cellist, but there was no “wow.” But just before we had time to be disappointed, the plates were cleared and the announcer declared that the main show was about to begin. And when the lights went down and the show started, our jaws dropped.
From the first moment of the show to the last, there isn’t a single dull moment. The show combines mesmerizing choreography with eroticism aimed at both sexes (alongside very beautiful women, there are muscular men dancing shirtless). The show is also full of humor, including self-deprecating humor, and almost all of it is the kind of humor you don’t need to know French to understand.
For example, at one point two acrobats, a man and a woman, come on stage. The woman keeps yelling at the man, and the man does exactly what he’s told, even as she tries all sorts of stunts on him that get more and more dangerous each time (throwing a hammer between his legs, standing him on a wheel and shooting at balloons right next to him, and more). I don’t know about you, but it reminded me of an old-school comedy duo, French acrobatic edition 🙂
Beyond the humor, there’s also choreography with quite a few talented dancers and singers who sing along with them. Joining them are the singer Cyril Cinélu, winner of the French talent show Nouvelle Star, and Iris Mittenaere, Miss Universe 2016, who proves she’s not just a beautiful woman but also an excellent dancer and a pretty good singer. The result is nothing short of spectacular and, just as important to me, unique. You’ll see dancing inside a bathtub full of water, a singer flying through the air above the audience’s heads, and quite a few other surprises. Even the traditional cancan, which no French cabaret can do without, gets a special twist here.
The Verdict: Is the Show Worth It?
After about an hour and a half of a show without a single dull moment, Ronen and I concluded that the show is worth every euro and is an excellent, and even slightly cheaper, alternative to the Moulin Rouge. As I mentioned, you can buy tickets for the show alone (from 80 euros per person) or a ticket for the show and dinner (from 175 euros). True, the dinner wasn’t bad and came with an extra show, but in my opinion the foodies among us would rather spend the difference between the two tickets (about 95 euros) on dinner at one of the restaurants in Paris that serves a slightly more interesting menu.
The Paradis Latin recently changed chefs and brought in the famous chef Guy Savoy (born 1953) to create its new menu. I personally haven’t had a chance to try the new menu, but it certainly looks intriguing. So if any of you book the show and dinner, I’d love it if you wrote to me directly or left a comment, so I can decide whether to change my recommendation.
You can find more information about the show and buy tickets through this link
Want to Read About More Shows in Paris?
You’re welcome to visit my page of recommended shows and cabarets in Paris.
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