This post is not sponsored. I was gifted tickets for myself, and a plus one, to see Amélie at the Pavilion in Bournemouth. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
When I was at school, at the end of term in French class we would always watch a french film. One year, we watched Amélie. The class would always mess about in the exam room on their phones and never really pay attention. Me, even back then I loved films and I would sit and watch (I would sit near the front so I could see the captions and so no one could disturb me!). I remember the class saying that it was a weird film, and yes, I agreed that it was weird, however I loved it. So much so, that years later when it was on Netflix, I watched it again. Being a bit older, I understood more of the film and understood the storyline a little bit more.
Anyways, what I’m trying to say is that when I heard that they had recreated Amélie into a musical, I was intrigued!
Amélie is set in Paris.
It’s about a girl, named Amélie. She is an astonishing young woman who lives quietly in the world, but loudly in her mind. Amélie improvises small acts of kindness that bring happiness to those around her. However, when a chance at love comes her way, she realises that to be happy she’ll have to risk everything and say what’s in her heart.
The show started with loud noises and incredible lighting. In fact, the lighting was incredible throughout the performance. Rather than the lighting just lighting the performers, it was almost like a character in itself. You could tell where you were if that makes sense. Quite a lot of the musical is set in a metro. The background set did not change, however, by the flickers of light, you could tell that you were underground.
Another thing that I loved about the show and to be honest, not seen before was all the cast performed the music as well as acted and out of place at all. I feel like when you go to Paris, there are plenty of street performers so it fitted in perfectly with the setting. It was like their instruments were an extension of the character.
Speaking of the music, the songs were so good.
There were plenty of them (which I love) and I also loved the genre. It was very folk like and very French. I wish there was a soundtrack, as I would be playing it just to hear the songs again! So good!
The cast performed the show in a French accent, which was really nice, considering it’s based on a french film, however, every now and again, I would mishear a couple of words, so I was piecing sentences together. It wasn’t a huge problem, but something to consider when watching the show.
I did feel that the casting of this was incredible.
Audrey Brisson, who played Amélie, really shone throughout. She got Amélie exactly right, it truly felt like Amélie was coming to life before my eyes. AMAZING!
Thank you to BHLive Tickets and Bournemouth Bloggers for inviting me to see Amélie. I thought it was so cleverly done and really well cast.
If you would like to see Amélie, then click here. Or if you would like to see any other of my theatre reviews, click here.
