La Clique

It was definitely worth a try. Cabaret! Acrobatic acts! Fire and nudity! It’s billed as a risqué, only-in-Paris experience and, well yes, I think that’s a fair description. For better or worse.

I had read pretty good things about "La Clique" so when Sylvia solicited interest from the troops, I threw in my 49 euros and marked my calendar for a Saturday night adventure.

It was fun and silly, but very uneven. My favorite three acts were the two “Brits” who manhandled each other while also defying gravity (I tried covertly taking pictures (below) but it didn’t go over so well); the androgynous trapeze artist, and the curvaceous cabaret singer, who hammed it up with a sadistic German shtick and dragged Lionel on stage (oh yes, there is audience participation).


But, oh, my, god, the comedy and the magic acts were cringe-worthy. I mean, the woman who pulled a hankie out of her kooch wasn’t bad, but there was an old-timer magician who just made me sad. And the American who played the kazoo with her kooch was embarrassing. And I just will never understand French humor—too slap-sticky for me—which was one of Muriel’s favorite acts. I think what you laugh at is definitely a cultural thing.