Alfie Joey reflects on Moulin Rouge at Sunderland Empire

OOH La La, Mon Ami et Marras!

‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’ comes to Sunderland Empire for the best part of next month.

I loved the Baz Luhrman film but I’ve not seen the stage show. Maybe it’s time to Can Can my way to the West End of the North East and take in the wistful tail set in the sultry shadows of Montmartre and Le Sacré Coeur.

But what have the French ever done for ME? Well, I have always loved the sound of the rich, Gallic language, I’ve read EVERY Asterix adventure and j’adore la musique de Piaf et Charles Aznavour (my Dad used to call him Charles Az-No-Voice – sorry dad, you were wrong on this one; he was the French Sinatra).

I have also been learning Duolingo French since 2018 – unfortunately it doesn’t mean I can parlais French but my vocabulary is tres bonne!

So, in honour of a spectacular show coming to our region, if we may, we’ll go Francais in the column this week.

I give you the Magnifique Seven, North East, French Connections.

Un: Geordie campaigner Josephine Butler became famous all over Europe, especially in France, for making a stand against laws regulating prostitution. French feminists saw her as an icon after she visited in 1874. (Bonus connection as she was called ‘Josephine’, a name very much synonymous with French history. ‘Not tonight!’)

Deux: Crooner Sacha Distel played Newcastle Odeon in 1972. (Were you there?) Bizarre, bonus link – a Sacha Distel video played before Morrissey took to the stage at the Arena in Newcastle on the December 4, 2006.

Trois: The Tyne and Wear’s shipyards built vessels for clients all over the world, including France. There were long-standing industrial ties between North East yards and French ports like Saint-Nazaire.

Quatre: In a Christmas edition of the TV show Spender starring Jimmy Nail, the Geordie detective is sent to France to escort Tommy Thornton who has been extradited to the UK.

Cinq: Sunderland Football Club have a huge link with France through current owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, the Swiss-French businessman and manager Régis Le Bris. Newcastle of course will always remember, with affection, David Ginola, for his silky skills and his silkily shampooed hair in equal measure.

Six: Durham Cathedral is a masterpiece of Norman architecture – effectively an English evolution of French Romanesque styles brought over after the conquest of 1066.

Sept: Frenchman’s Bay in South Shields, is a small coastal viewpoint set into the cliffs between South Shields and Marsden. It might not be a beach you descend to for a day by the sea, but definitely a place to stop and look out over a rocky inlet to observe the pale cliffs and the North Sea beyond.

FACTS & FOOTNOTES

l Charles Aznavour played Newcastle City Hall in April 1978. Born in Paris to Armenian immigrants, Aznavour was a master song writer and a phenomenal story teller through his music.

l Alnwick in Northumberland is twinned with Lagny-sur-Marne, a commune in the eastern outer suburbs of Paris, while Stockton on Tees is twinned with Asnières-sur-Seine, a commune in Île-de-France, northern France.

l Moulin Rouge is at the Sunderland Empire from June 5 to 27. Best of luck to Marie Nixon and the tremendous team who run this magnificent theatre, a jewel in the crown of North East entertainment. Merci mes amis!

You can email Alfie via www.AlfieJoey.com and find some of his previous Echo articles there