Speak Frog

Jan.18
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Marchland

Posted by in History, Literature, London, Music, Theatre

Franco – British theatre company Théâtre Volière is coming back to London with Marchland : a season of performances from the edges and in-between places of Europe. Based in Alsace, Théâtre Volière have always been fascinated by the turbulent history of this border region between France and Germany. Marchland is their response to the crisis of identity currently sweeping Europe. A recurring ‘rendez-vous’, Marchland will run each February from 2018 to 2020 at the historic Bridewell Theatre turned into a unique pop-up space. The former swimming pool will be transformed into a central European café and fitted…read more

Sep.20
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Anglo-Norman London

Posted by in History, London

Cycling in the city, I came across the beautiful Cutler’s Hall in Warwick Lane : a sign of London’s Norman past. The Worshipful Company of Cutlers, aka the guild of knife-makers, was granted royal charter in 1416 and guided by the motto ‘Pour Parvenir a Bonne Foy’, to ‘Succeed in Good Faith’.

Sep.02
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François means French

Posted by in Blog, History, Language

The newspaper L’Express ran an interesting series of summer articles about the history of the French language. In short: When the territory was still know as Gaul, a Celtic language was in place. After Julius Caesar conquered the land of Asterix, Latin imposed itself as the dominant language, slowly eradicating the initial Celtic culture whose traces are now only to be found in the language still spoken in Britanny: Breton. The Franks later took over from the Romans, but they didn’t impose their own Germanic language (although they contributed a lot of vocabulary) instead they blended…read more

Jun.20
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Love letter

Posted by in Art, Cinema, History, Language, Literature

Most of my students learn French because they have a French speaking partner. So, as the weekend begins, here is the ultimate French love letter. Je suis perdu, vois-tu, je suis noyé, inondé d’amour: ‘I am lost you see, I am drowned, flooded with love’… Romantic poet and playwright Alfred de Musset writes to his lover George Sand (aka Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin), another prominent 19th century writer. Their passionate and tumultuous relationship is also the subject of a 1999 film with Juliette Binoche: Les Enfants du Siècle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFwSYTLHEjE Baden, 1834 Voilà…read more

Mar.10
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International Women’s Day

Posted by in Blog, History, London, News

This Saturday was international women’s day. We celebrated women’s achievements and the progress that has been made so far in terms of equality. It was important to do so:  as mentioned by Jude Kelly, the artistic director of the the Southbank Centre, where the very inspiring WOW festival was being held:  progress is never immune from a backlash. What is currently happening in Spain where the government is trying to scrap the right to abortion on demand is a nearby example of such a  regression. As shared in a recent post, France also has its battles….read more

The march

Posted by in Blog, Cinema, History, News

This year is the 30th anniversary of the March for Equality and Against Racism, also known as “Marche des Beurs“, the ‘walk of the arabs’. Started in Marseille in reaction to the racist violence inflicted by police on the migrant youth of the suburbs, the walkers covered over a thousand km through France and ended in Paris. Watch the news report of the time: A feature film titled ‘La Marche‘ is also released in France today.

Nov.27
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Oct.10
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France’s last execution

Posted by in Blog, History

In 1977, investigating judge Monique Mabelly was designated to witness the execution of a tunisian man, the last to receive the capital punishment in France. This took place in a prison of Marseille in the early morning of September 9th. When she got home, she wrote this sober but indignant testimony. The death sentence was later abolished in France by President François Mitterand on 18 September 1981.