French flavour at The Fugard Bioscope

There’s a French flavour for the February line-up at The Fugard Bioscope as three of the four Sunday screenings are productions from Comédie-Française, one of France’s most respected theatres and home to Molière’s historic theatre troupe.

Presenting live recordings of the world’s best theatre, opera and ballet productions from companies such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Bolshoi Ballet and the Royal Ballet, the Fugard Bioscope experience transports you to the heart of the action on stage, viewed on a full size high definition cinema screen.

Screenings start at 10am and The Fugard Theatre coffee shop and bar is open from 9am serving the finest coffee and a delicious selection of snacks and drinks.

The February line up is:

Sunday February 3 10am – Comédie-Française’s The Misanthrope (French with English subtitles)

Sunday 10 February 10am – Comédie-Française’s Scapin The Schemer (French with English subtitles)

Sunday February 10 10am – Comédie-Française’s The Fop Reformed (French with English subtitles)

Sunday February 24 10am – the Royal Opera House’s The Queen Of Spades (Russian with English surtitles) In The Misanthrope Alcest loves Célimène, a flirtatious woman from the Parisian high society. He loathes this world for its hypocritical etiquette but, shaken by a public trial he is called to by this social circle, he must visit Célimène to ask for her help…

Denis Podalydès returns as a director to the Salle Richelieu with Scapin The Schemer a play that has been performed more than 1,500 times by the Comédiens-Français but which has not had a new production for twenty years. Octave and Léandre’s amorous intentions are thwarted by two authoritarian fathers who have just returned from a trip with determined to marry their sons to two strangers. They young men turn to the wily Scapin for help, placing their fate in his hands. 

The Fop Reformed is the story of a young Parisian whose parents have found a good match for him, a count’s daughter. But when he goes to visit her, the handsome boy – whose Parisian manners are far removed from the rules of decorum that reign in the provinces – cannot open his heart to his lovely intended. Stung, the latter decides to teach him a lesson for his arrogance.

Wrapping up the season on Sunday February 24, opera aficionados won’t want to miss the Royal Opera House’s five-star production of The Queen Of Spades, Tchaikovsky’s intense opera of obsession and the supernatural, which is conducted by Antonio Pappano, Music Director of The Royal Opera. This is an engrossing portrayal of a tortured creative artist and a gripping piece of gothic storytelling. Aleksandrs Antonenko and Eva-Maria Westbroek head the cast and Royal Opera Chorus.

Screenings take place at the Fugard Theatre on Sundays at 10am.Tickets cost R100 and can be booked directly through the Fugard Theatre box office on 021 461 4554 or online at www.thefugard.com  There is a 20% discount for Friends of the Fugard and a 15% discount for pensioners.  These discounted tickets are available through the box office.