School life: French Theatre bring '˜Le Cafe' to Hipperholme

The company focuses heavily on the language used in each play.

They work to ensure plays are pitched correctly to complement the learning and level of the students.

As well as this, the actors who perform are specially trained to present in a specific style which helps students follow the play. Mime and repetition were some of the tricks used to aid this.

The main character Colette was played by Marion Boutes, and her fellow actor, Paul Alphaizan, managed to play the roles of 7 other characters, ranging from Colette’s boss, her former boyfriend and even the boyfriend’s mother.

The performance was entirely in French with plenty of opportunity for pupil participation.

The level of French varied from very simple to reasonably difficult and the show exposed the students to ‘live’ language situations as they would experience on a trip to France such as, ordering food in a cafe or booking a table.

This meant that all students from years 7 through to 11 were able to benefit from the experience at their level.

The actors praised our students, saying they had been a marvellous audience.