Belleville Rendez-vous

Belleville Rendez-Vous is a devised adaptation of Sylvain Chomet's animated film, Triplettes de Belleville. It tells the story of Champion, a Tour de France cyclist, who is kidnapped by the French mafia and taken to Belleville for fatal betting purposes. It is up to his grandmother and her dog to save him.The reworking of this film into a stage production is handled with cunning ingenuity by the company: bold make-up, costumes, beautifully crafted props and puppets, larger-than-life physicality and a perfectly timed chorus combines to create a surreal cartoonish quality.The exquisite ensemble work was apparent from the get-go as the Belleville of the past was conjured into the present with well-timed dance sequences and music bursting out from the onstage band, collaborating to summon an air of excitement and thrilling energy.Keeping the show moving was the slick cast, exhibiting physical theatre at its finest. Bicycle wheels trembled into frighteningly stormy seas whilst people became planes, planets and puppies. It was the creativity behind every image that produced such a thrill, the company fashioned a world where anything was possible and there was no telling what would happen next.The live band accompanying from the side of the stage was a show in itself. The slapping of the double bass, the whining notes of the accordion and an eclectic mix of make-shift instruments to create spot-on sound effects delivered an appropriate atmosphere for the energetic piece.The only taint on this otherwise excellent affair was that, so caught up in creating beautiful images, the story was sometimes lost. In fact, I spent much of the first half confused about what was even going on. Perhaps it is the problem of a show that has obviously taken a great deal of time and rehearsal to create, as the cast get increasingly immersed in the show they forget that the audience will be coming in afresh and oblivious to the plot. Relief came two thirds of the way through, when a cast member stood to the side of the stage to 'translate' the scene for us in an Ocean’s 11 'this is how the plan is going to go' style. From then on all was clear, it was just a shame they couldn't have employed this narration technique from the start.Even without full understanding one can fully appreciate the stylistic beauty and enjoy the striking imagery of this heartfelt show. If you're interested in devised theatre, come and see how it's done properly here at the Belleville.