Bérangère Mathot in *Tentacles*: a revelation
We’d spotted her in *Starmania*, seen her receive applause in *8 Women*, and caught her on stage here and there. Talented, yes. But writing of that calibre? Clearly, we hadn’t seen that coming.
Here, forget stand-up comedy. No easy jokes, no tired old tricks. Just a cast of completely mad characters… and, above all, brilliantly portrayed. Her playground: exhilarating absurdity. Unlikely, almost ridiculous subjects, which she transforms into gems. Anecdotes that become punchlines. And characters who, beneath their madness, bear a strange resemblance to everyone.
Vegan, aristocrat, chav… she switches between personas at a dizzying pace. A machine-gun delivery, no pauses. The sketches follow one after another, the characters spring up without warning. We move from Toulouse-Lautrec to Jesus in supermarkets, from discriminatory expressions about animals to the sexuality of molluscs, from the sarcastic mother to the birth of the sewerage system. Yes, it’s absurd, but it’s also erudite (with a few minor historical liberties… which are more than forgiven). And above all, it’s terribly funny. Tentacules reinvents the genre. Far, very far from cheap humour, Bérangère plays with history, subverts conventions, and draws everyone into her sprawling universe.
A favourite of the 97150 editorial team, and we hope this is just the start of a long run, as this show clearly deserves to tour. Two new dates on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 April. But don’t delay: after the premiere, the audience had just one desire… to go back, because it goes by (very) quickly. The humour bursts forth, hits home, and vanishes almost immediately. We’d love to press pause, savour every line… and start the whole thing over again.
Tickets (€20): www.theatresxm.fr
