La Vie Parisienne
Our 2026 show will be La Vie Parisienne performed at the Cecil Hepworth Playhouse - Walton-on-Thames from 25th to 28th February 2026.
*Tickets will go on sale 1.12.25*
Director: Martine Young
Music Director: Laura Brown
Choreographer: Lorraine Landon
La Vie Parisienne (1866) was Offenbach’s first full-length work to portray contemporary Parisian life, unlike his earlier period pieces and mythological subjects. It became one of his most popular operettas.
It depicts a vibrant, frivolous, and romanticized view of Parisian life. It revolves around a group of Parisians, including dandies, socialites, and visitors, entangled in a web of flirtations, masquerades, and romantic pursuits.
The operetta is known for its lively music and humorous depiction of Parisian society and it became one of his most popular operettas.
La Vie Parisienne is a musical comedy, and we will be using the Park and Hanmer adaptation for amateur groups in English, which was published in the 1960s. Some visitors arrive in Paris with elevated and naïve expectations of "the Paris lifestyle", and a group of the locals lead them a merry ride. The music is fast and fun (you will recognise some of the tunes) and there are plenty of entertaining principal roles for both men and women. We're setting it in the 1920s, so the costumes will also be stylish.
Want to be involved? Email us at info@kasjog.co.uk
The Rehearsal Schedule can be found here.
THE CAST: (27 October 2025)
Brazil - Michael Crow
Gabrielle - Sue Prior
Metella - Giselle Thorne
Raoul - Luke Leeves
Bobinet - Matt Lawson
Baron - Mark Lewis
Baroness - Elizabeth Loveder
Pauline - Anne Crow
Julie - Helena Newman
Louise - Sara Cromwell
Pierre - Ross Elliott
Jaques - Brian Gillies
Marcel - David Saunders
La Vie Parisienne - synopsis
Set in the dazzling world of Second Empire Paris, La Vie Parisienne follows a lively cast of would-be lovers, social climbers, and tourists eager to sample the city’s legendary pleasures. Two Parisian boulevardiers, Raoul de Gardefeu and Bobinet, both infatuated with the glamorous courtesan Métella, decide to distract themselves by guiding unsuspecting visitors through the “true” Paris.
Raoul intercepts a wealthy Swedish couple, the exuberant Baron and Baroness Gondremarck, and—posing as a hotel guide—installs them in a private house that he passes off as luxury accommodation. He hopes to charm the Baroness, but chaos erupts when the Baron becomes equally determined to enjoy his Parisian freedom.
Meanwhile, Bobinet takes charge of entertaining the Baron during a lavish, alcohol-fuelled “grand society” party staffed entirely by his own servants disguised as aristocrats. The Baron is delighted with this glittering façade, none the wiser that he is being thoroughly duped.
As the characters criss-cross Paris in pursuit of thrills, flirtations, and misunderstandings, the disguises multiply and the deceptions grow ever more outrageous. Métella herself returns to untangle the confused affections, culminating in a spectacular supper hosted by the eccentric Brazilian, whose enthusiasm for Parisian nightlife knows no bounds.
In the end, identities are revealed, harmony is restored, and everyone joins in a jubilant celebration of the irresistible, intoxicating spirit of Paris—a city where joy, romance, and folly reign supreme.