Marathon Petit Jean


Photo: Charleville-Mezieres

= What would  puppetry festival be without children’s shows? Marathon Petit Jean, from Compagnie Mariska (France) was a wonderful children’s show, and it made me kid again with its good-natured silliness.

Our little boy, Petit Jean, is at The Louvre with has Pappy. There’s a thief there too, and he can’t decide what to steal (The Mona Lisa perhaps?). At any rate, he’s chased away when the polar bear comes to life. A statue of a girl comes to life as well. Petit Jean paints a picture and it all ends happily.

Marathon Petit Jean is presented in a brightly lit proscenium with gay yellow backdrop framed by fabric with ecstatic hand prints on it. The proper French children sat in wrapt attention - they didn’t even fidget - and when the occasion demanded they yelled “A gauche!” or “A droite!”. Your critic, usually the soul of reserve, might have done some yelling myself. 
There are nearly 25 shows starring Petit Jean, and they’ve travelled the world with Compagnie Mariska. The Festival Mondial des Theatres de Marionettes presented ten at Charleville-Mezieres - and I’m sure the children wanted more.

- Steve Capra

September 2019

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