Showtime!
Posted on Friday, January 29, 2010 at 11:22 pmCategory: Edukation, My Drivel, Strange Thingies
It is a scene repeated all over France on any given Friday night.
Groups of shifty-looking, unshaven men in work clothes gather discretely at remote locations to plot and plan, and this village is no different. But we weren’t planning the overthrow of the Fifth Republic or anything like that. We were dancing.
To be absolutely precise, we were deciding what we should dance in this year’s school Dinêr Spectacle, father’s sketch section. It was gratifying that in the fifth year of our using the format of entertainment provided by the parents, the number of men prepared to make complete arses of themselves continues to increase.
The theme this year is “Les Vamps en Amerique.”
Les Vamps are a comedy duo, a pair of characters named Lucienne and Gisèle, a couple of middle aged ratbags. They are very funny, but very French. The humour is not particularly subtle, but you have to live here to get a lot of it.
If you are a French speaker then this clip might give you some idea:
For the last four shows, a pair of mothers at the school have been making up and performing “Vamps” sketches. Oddly, although one of the ladies involved is quite, well, loud in everyday life, the other is quite demure. But get a headscarf on her and everything changes.
Frankly, they are the best bits of the show, and at the end of last year our Vamps set off across the Atlantic for the USA. This means that we are trying to make the rest of the show American themed.
Obviously I’m not about to spill the beans about what we are planning on a public site, but I can divulge that the idea of performing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” what had been proposed by someone or other (no-one seems quite sure) has been firmly knocked on the head because none of us can stand it.
This year, though, I will make sure I get photos.
BTW this not just incestuous backscratching. 
January 30th, 2010 12:35
Do you get Marie something or other…or something like that…touring your area? The transvestite plouc with the motorcycle?
I went to one show when visiting friends and laughed like a drain for the whole show..it was so rural France.
January 30th, 2010 18:40
Hello Jon – I’m very depressed by the incomprehensibility of the clip, but the photo is Fabulous – I spent a goodly time trying to work out which Vamp was you…
Can’t wait for Genuine Extravaganza photos.
January 31st, 2010 12:56
They do need watching for a bit to get the old ear tuned. There are some other clips on You Tube. They’re just so …. French.
January 31st, 2010 12:57
My Wife has seen him in Niort. The OGEC were wondering whether we could afford him for our show, but although he was very, very good, they didn’t think we’d cover the cost. So that’s why we’re on stage.
January 31st, 2010 15:49
Just as long as you have the motorcycle…..
February 17th, 2010 00:07
[...] Regular readers may recall that the theme of this year’s school diner-spectacular is to be “The Vamps in America.” [...]