When you say cabaret show in Paris, everyone immediately thinks of the Moulin Rouge, and those who have been to Paris once or twice might also mention the Lido and the Crazy Horse . But what if I told you that there was a cabaret that was there long before them, whose show is no less spectacular and that it is located in the heart of the Latin Quarter? I mean, of course, Paradis Latin, and in August 2019 I had the opportunity to experience, together with my dear friend Ronen Sass, its show.
Paradis Latin – performing since the Napoleonic era
Before I tell you about the show, I wanted to say a few words about the history of Paradis Latin. It all began in 1802, when Napoleon decided to build a new theater on the rue Fossés-Saint-Victor, in the heart of the Latin Quarter. The theater, which opened in 1803, quickly became famous for its popular performances, and became a very popular place of entertainment where ordinary people could also meet figures such as Honoré de Balzac or Alexandre Dumas face to face. However, all good things must come to an end, and during the Siege of Paris, during the Franco- Prussian War , the theater burned down.
In 1887, during the preparations for the 1889 World Exhibition, it was decided to rebuild the theater, this time on Cardinal Lemoine Street. The work was entrusted to no less than Gustave Eiffel, and in January 1889 the theater reopened. In the years that followed, its show, which was a mix of singers, dancers, acrobats, and slapstick entertainers, gradually became established. Initially, the club was quite successful, but over the years, the Latin Quarter lost its primacy in terms of shows to Montmartre , and the club gradually declined until it closed in 1894.
Over the years, the Paradis Latin building housed a variety of businesses, including a brasserie and a painter’s studio, none of which were particularly successful. In 1973, the theater building seemed to be coming to an end, when it was bought by Jean Kriegel, a French real estate tycoon who wanted to demolish the place and build apartments in its place. But then, by some miracle, Mr. Kriegel found Gustave Eiffel’s forgotten theater hall on the site and decided that such a historical monument should not be demolished. Instead, he decided to renovate the building, and in 1977 the club reopened as a cabaret.
A few years ago, a dear Jew named Harold Israel began running the place, and in 2019, to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the cabaret's reopening, it was decided to launch a completely new show. The show was designed by the famous choreographer Kamel Ouali, whose previous show Le Roi Soleil, about the life of Louis XIV , was a huge success.
The result, in Kamel’s words, is “a show completely different from any other show in Paris.” Ronen and I arrived on August 5, 2019, to check out the show.
My experience of the show
Since we decided to try the full package that included dinner and a show, we both showed up at 19:30 PM outside the club, which is a short walk from the Cardinal Lemoine metro station (line 10). We waited a very short time before we got in, and during that time I noticed that most of those waiting with us spoke French . I didn't see very many tourists, except for a Japanese couple, who were dressed as if they were at the Oscars (I, alas, lost the jacket I had brought especially for the event at a hotel in Nantes airport ).
Shortly after arriving, we were ushered to our table, champagne was poured, and dinner began. It was a very French meal, bordering on the clichéd.
I can certainly understand why the owners do this, but I was a little bored by the menu. Of course, this does not mean that the food itself was bad. On the contrary, it was not bad at all, but not much different from what you would get at a reasonable bistro-plus restaurant in Paris. I chose the escargots for a starter , which were good and I even managed to convince Ronen, who had never tasted snails, to try them (I think another fan has now joined the escargot-loving club).
During the meal, a singer appeared on stage with dancers and even a not-so-bad cellist. To my surprise, a large part of the songs were not French songs but rather a selection of American pop from the last few decades. At first, it surprised me a little because I was expecting songs in French, but when I looked around and saw that I was surrounded by French speakers – I understood. After all, they are not looking to hear chansons , but rather like what comes from the pop factories in the US. The meal dragged on and the Chateaubriand dish was served on the table (reasonable but nothing more than that) and for dessert I ordered a sorbet which was nice. At the same time, the singer continued to sing and the cellist even gave his own solo performance which was not bad at all.
I must say that somewhere towards the end of the dessert, a kind of crisis arose. Ronen and I looked at each other and asked ourselves, is this the whole Paradis Latin show? True, the singer was not bad and so were the dancers and the cellist but there was no “wow” there. However, just before we could be disappointed, the plates were cleared from the table and the announcer announced that the main show was about to begin. And when the lights went out and the show began, our mouths dropped open.
From the first moment of the show to its end, there is not a single moment of boredom. The show itself combines mesmerizing choreography with eroticism, which is aimed at both sexes (alongside very beautiful women, there are gnarled men dancing shirtless). The show is also full of humor, even self-humor, and most of it is humor that you don't need to know French to understand.
For example, during the show, two acrobats, a man and a woman, appear. The woman constantly yells at the man, while the man does exactly what he is told, even as the woman tries all kinds of tricks on him that become more and more dangerous each time (for example, throwing a hammer between his legs, making the man stand on a wheel, shooting balloons that are right next to him, and more). I don’t know about you, but to me it reminded me of the French/acrobatic version of “Yosef” from the mythological show Motzash 🙂
Beyond the humor, there is also choreography with quite a few talented dancers and singers singing along with them. All of these are joined by singer Cyril Cinelu, winner of the French “Rising Star,” and Iris Mittenaere, Miss World 2016, who proves that she is not only a beautiful woman but also an excellent dancer and not a bad singer at all. The result is nothing less than spectacular and, what is no less important to me – unique. Here you will find dancing in a bathtub full of water, a singer flying in the air above the heads of the spectators, and quite a few other surprises. Even the traditional can-can dance, which no French cabaret can do without, has received a special twist here.
The verdict – or is it worth going to the show?
After about an hour and a half of a show in which there was not a single moment of boredom, Ronen and I came to the conclusion that the show was worth every euro and was an excellent and even slightly cheaper alternative to the Moulin Rouge. As mentioned, you can buy tickets for the show itself (starting at 80 euros per person) and you can buy a ticket for the show and dinner (starting at 175 euros). Although the dinner was not bad and included another show, I think the connoisseurs among us would prefer to invest the difference between the two tickets (at least 55 euros) in a meal at one of the Paris restaurants , which serves a slightly more interesting menu.
Paradis Latin recently changed their chef and invited the famous chef Guy Savoy to create their new menu. I personally haven't had the chance to try the new menu but it certainly looks intriguing. So if any of you book the show+dinner I would be happy if you could write to me directly or in a comment so I can decide whether to change my recommendation.
More information about the show and ticket purchases can be made via this link.
Want to read about more shows in Paris?
You are invited to visit the recommendations page for shows in Paris and cabarets.
More on the subject
