Speak Frog

Jun.14
0

Haim – In The Light Of A Violin

Posted by in Blog, Language, London, Music, Theatre

Last night, I was lucky to see Haim – In The Light Of A Violin (or Haim – A La Lumiere d’un Violon, as it is known in French). The true story of violinist prodigy and Holocaust survivor Haïm Lipsky is written and directed with great sensibility by Gérald Garutti and performed in French with English surtitles in a new translation by Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons, Atonement). The UK premiere opened last weekend at the gorgeous Coronet on Notting Hill Gate. This was the first great discovery of the evening. Built…read more

Mar.08
0

Le Français dans tous ses états!

Posted by in Blog, Language, London, Theatre

Prepare to experience the French language in all its accents! Actors from France, Quebec, Belgium and Switzerland meet in a wild improvisation match to celebrate the week of the French Language. It’s hosted by the FBI, not the US secret services, but the friendlier French British Improvisation league, in the beautiful Clapham Grand, on March 16th at 7pm. If you don’t know much about improvisation, you can read about it here, in French: Né au Québec, ce genre théâtral se veut un mélange entre l’improvisation théâtrale et le hockey sur…read more

Aug.03
0

Consolation by Theatre Volière

Posted by in Blog, London, Theatre

The Bridewell Theatre is hosting an Anglo-French summer season in the heart of London. Strasbourg-based touring company Theatre Voliere  -whose Poilu and Tommy received a Best show nomination from the Off West End Awards in 2014- are back in town from August 12th to September 4th with two bilingual shows! In the evenings, they will perform their new show Consolation: a tragicomedy set in modern day Southern France. Written by Mick Wood, directed by Natasha Wood and designed byRūta Irbīte. The play explores the relationship between a young Frenchman, who plays a Cathar knight at the local Visitor’s Centre, and a middle-aged Englishwoman…read more

May.14
0

We have moved!

Posted by in Blog, London

Speak Frog’s office is now at 144 Mare street in Hackney, just behind London Fields. It is conveniently located above of two bus stops (and a petrol station…), a stone’s throw from London fields train station (linking into Liverpool st) and a short bus ride away from Bethnal Green tube or Hackney Central overground. Book a trial class and come and visit!    

Mar.11
0

Tartuffe

Posted by in Blog, Humorous, Literature, London, Practice, Theatre

If you are looking to practice your French you could head to the French Institute and watch an original new staging of a classical French play. The French Institute’s theatre season En Scène! presents Molière’s Tartuffe in a new adaptation by actor Guillaume Baillart. Molière’s most performed play  has the double title of Tartuffe or the Impostor, it satirises self-interested hypocrisy and the power some of us hand over to gurus. Tartuffe is the name of the main character and the play made such an impression when it was first performed in 1664 that the term was quick to pass into everyday language. ‘Tartuffe’ is…read more

Nov.24
0

I would like a glass of wine

Posted by in Blog, Cuisine, London

Je voudrais un verre de vin… You might find yourself forming that sentence as you come out of your French class and your head buzzes from all the things you just learnt. A nice glass of wine might be the answer to relax it all into place. We are lucky to have the lovely Winehouse just round the corner on Shacklewell lane. It’s definitely a welcome addition to the neighbourhood! Aleksic and Mortimer are wine importers specialised in artisan wines. They source their bottles from small domains, located mainly in France, and provide a…read more

Nov.03
0

Made in France

Posted by in Blog, Humorous, London

Voilà! Festival, London’s French loving theatre and performance event has started with a bang! And next Friday, Nov 7th, it will welcome funny Frenchman Yacine Belhousse and his show Made in France which now comes to London after its success at this year’s Edinburgh festival. The show is in English and although it won’t directly help you with your own French language skills, it might put you in a good mood! Which in itself is useful to learning. See the logic at work here? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naZjzuAPumE

The Past

Posted by in Blog, Cinema, London

It’s a good month for French films in the UK. After Yves Saint Laurent, Le Passé (The Past) comes out this Friday. I saw the film during a preview and highly recommend it. It features fine performances from Bérénice Béjo (The Artist) who won the best actress award at Cannes for this film; Tahar Rahim (A Prophet) and Ali Mosaffa, Iranian actor who performs in French here. As well as a great cast of children who are equally good. Which is all to the credit of Iranian director Asghar Farhadi. The Past takes…read more

Mar.25
0
Mar.10
0

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

Feb.26
0

A good egg

Posted by in Blog, Cuisine, London

This lunchtime I had a voiceover session in an advertising agency around Leicester square. I arrived early and had ten minutes to spare. On a slightly empty stomach, I thought it would help my general relaxation -and voice- to swallow a little something. That’s when I passed Le Beaujolais and remembered that this French wine bar always has hard boiled eggs on the counter! It is a very old tradition found in a lot of cafés in France, although nowadays it isn’t as common as it used to be. Pity……read more

>