Marie-Jeanne

Brussels, 1945. The war has just ended, but some scores remain to be settled. Marie-Jeanne, a famous Brussels cabaret owner, is summoned before the commission for the purification of artistic circles. She is accused of collaboration. But Marie-Jeanne does not let herself be judged so easily. A cabaret owner with a strong character, a proud and popular woman, she will transform her appearance into a real cabaret act. With insolence and a good dose of Brussels sass, she tells her version of the story. The nights of her cabaret, the artists and the dances that made Brussels vibrate until the early morning. This story of collaboration is a conspiracy organized by jealous people. It is a mistake, the real misunderstanding is not the one we expected. There may well be other skeletons in the closet… Between 1900 and 1950, Brussels lived to the rhythm of its cabarets, music halls, and cafés-concerts. Places of freedom, celebration, and encounters where people sang to forget misery, war, and heartbreak. For behind the popular choruses and the stage lights, other stories are told: those of women, artists, and the invisible. Of broken lives, struggles, and shattered dreams, of resistance too — realities that resonate strangely with our present. With this 18th one-woman show, Zidani brings the soul of Brussels cabarets back to life and takes us on a joyful and insolent journey through fifty years of history for the better and for the laughter. _______ Director: Charlie Degotte / By: Zidani / Dramaturgy: Charlie Degotte and Zidani / Assistant Director: Juliette Manneback / Scenography: Elizabeth Houtart and Michel Vinck / Costumes: Sylvie Tesnard / Lumière Fabian Fizaine / Video: Jérôme Svonock / Photos: Paul Khon / Musical arrangements: Valentin Gillis _______ A CO-PRODUCTION OF THÉÂTRE LE PUBLIC AND AKHENATON ASBL. WITH THE HELP OF THE WALLONIA-BRUSSELS FEDERATION – GENERAL SERVICE OF ARTISTIC CREATION – DEPARTMENTS OF THEATER AND PERFORMING ARTS, AND THE SUPPORT OF THE TAX SHELTER OF THE BELGIAN FEDERAL STATE VIA BESIDE.