Theatre du Reve inflates ‘Red Balloon’ for the stage
The Francophone theater captures Parisian street scenes with panache.
- Theatre du Reve
- IT IS BALLOON! Thomas Shoup with the title character
“It’s like those French have a different word for everything!” Steve Martin once complained. For years, a similar attitude inhibited me from seeing the work of Atlanta’s Théãtre du Rêve. Actress Carolyn Cook founded the company in 1995, and since then the French-language has staged productions of work by the likes of Moliére, Samuel Beckett, and Jean de la Fontaine. I’ve let them slide because I don’t know French, and only embarrass myself if I even attempt to pronounce the language.
The company’s remount of last year’s The Red Balloon may be Théãtre du Rêve’s ideal gateway show, and in fact seems to be designed that way. Adapted and directed by Park Cofield, The Red Balloon features narration and dialogue that alternates between English and French in a casual, unforced way, like the conversation you’d hear in a bilingual household.
If you took French class in school, you probably saw Albert Lamorisse’s The Red Balloon, an award-winning film whose 34-minute running time no doubt rescued many a hungover teacher. Théãtre du Rêve’s stage version runs about twice as long but seems even less eventful as it follows young Pascal (Thomas Shoup) and his unlikely friendship with the title plaything.