the essential
With only 42 seats, the Théâtre du Chien Blanc is certainly the smallest performance hall in Toulouse and surely the warmest, nestled in an alcove in the Marengo district. Discovery.
To find the Chien Blanc theater, simply walk along the railway tracks from the media library in the opposite direction to the station. We thus arrive at 26 rue du Général Compans, facing a wrought iron door, in front of which one day in 2006, a little white bichon was waiting for his mistress who left a little too quickly… “One evening, after a meeting where, precisely , the order of the day was to find a name for the theater, I left a little quickly, without realizing that my dog had not gotten into the car”, remembers Corinne Calmels who still runs the Chien Blanc theater . “It was only when I arrived home, about twenty minutes from Toulouse, that I noticed the absence of my dog. I left immediately and almost an hour after my departure, I found her who greeted me. waited quietly, sitting in front of the theater gate. The name was there.
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An anecdote that says a lot about this place which has been mixing the poetic and the sensitive for almost 20 years, in the intimacy of its 42-seat room, arranged in cabaret style, around round tables, where homemade dishes are served. before the show. “I always wanted to create a warm place, on a human scale, with a reception room,” adds Corinne Calmels. “When I found this old garage that needed to be renovated and fitted out, I wanted to create a place to live. I received help from many enthusiasts and very quickly this space dedicated to my workshops became a place of representation and we welcomed other companies This made it possible to pay the rent because we started without subsidies. Since then, the room has received support from the town hall with a little help and a subsidy from the department for the creation and operation but the costs and needs are increasing and making financial balance difficult to maintain.
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Friends of Monsieur in residence
Today, a team of four people takes care of the administrative and artistic aspects around the actress Corinne Calmels who created in 2000 the Cie Les Amis de Monsieur, resident of the place, which regularly presents her creations. “Our desire is to show creative theater, where joy and pleasure coexist, to transmit positivity,” comments the director. “With text theater but also sung theater, we take joy in communicating it. This place is a haven of well-being where we take care of others.” Among the workshops offered, some bring together people with disabilities with able-bodied people of all ages, every Tuesday afternoon.
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For new releases, the Théâtre du Chien Blanc has decided to open the whole month of July and offer “Novecento” after Alessandro Baricco. “We will play on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays as during the year,” explains Corinne Calmels. “This is our rhythm of performances almost every week and we want to move to a weekly rhythm. Our desire is also to develop the shows for young audiences which are currently given during school holidays and which we would like to offer every week in 2025 for be identified as a place also intended for children. Next year, the Cie Les Amis de Monsieur will present its new creation entitled “Dans les bras de Brassens”. A musical show which will evoke the romantic intimacy of Georges Brassens through three women who shared the artist’s life: Püpchen, Patachou and Jeanne whose goddaughter is in contact with Corinne Calmels who will sign the production.
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On display this summer
“Novecento” after Alessandro Baricco by the Cie Les Amis de Monsieur. Director: Jean-Paul Bibé. Interpretation: Boris Pomier. Artistic collaboration: Corinne Calmels. Decor design: Georges Calmels. For all. Duration 1 hour 30 minutes.
The action takes place in the 1930s, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, music resonates between New York and Liverpool: the sound of the inimitable Atlantic Jazz Band. On board the Virginian, a liner that connects Europe to America, Danny Boodman TD Lemon Novecento plays the piano, he plays a particular and captivating music like the echo of the ocean… He was born on this boat and he has never set foot on land before. In New York Harbor, the band’s former trumpeter, Tim Tooney, tells the story of an off-note pianist.
