FringeReview Worldwide 2025
Chez Lui
Patrik Cottet-Moine
Genre: character comedy, Clown, Comedy, European Theatre, Physical Theatre, Solo Show
Venue: Théâtre Episcène
Festival: FringeReview Worldwide
Low Down
Several years after the success of Mime de Rien, Patrik Cottet-Moine returns to the stage with a new solo mime and visual comedy show, taking the audience on an intimate and emotional journey that transforms the boundaries of the stage into a world without apparent limits.
Review
After having toured for more than 10 years in over 30 countries with his solo show “Mime de Rien,” French mime and clown Patrik Cottet-Moine returns to the stage with a new solo show titled “Chez Lui” (in English “At his place” or “At his Home”). Sometimes the biggest damnation for an artist is to be successful, as once you reach the peak there are no more mountains to climb. However, Patrik Cottet-Moine seems to have aged like French wine. The older it gets the more tasty it becomes.
I saw Mime de Rien in Italy about 15 years ago and to see Patrik performing in Avignon with a new show was an offer that could not simply be refused. The visual dramaturgy of the performance is co-authored by Canadian visual comedy legend Michel Courtemanche and Marc Andreini, the latter also acting as the director and metteur en scène.
The show is very long for a solo physical comedy show (about 70 minutes) but it feels short thanks to Patrik’s outstanding physical skill and engaging story line. Not only do the different scenes hold together seamlessly but compared to his first production “Mime de Rien” he adds a flawless ability as a sound effects artist.
A cinematic suspension of disbelief is thus created where the audience actually sees the objects and people Patrik creates in his imaginary world. To the point that when he mimes holding a razor blade next to his throat we cringe, expecting a gush of blood to spurt from his carotid artery. In other words he leads the audience in a quasi hypnotic trance where the line between reality and the imaginary becomes blurred.
This is the product of years of hard work by an artist who started his career as a self-taught mime artist after having worked in his youth as a marine mechanic, then becoming a rock singer and finally taking the leap into the abyss of mime, following what the Buddhists call “the direction of the heart.” In doing this he was inspired by the films of Chaplin and Tati and popular cartoons and indeed we are invited into what could be a Walt Disney production where the protagonist is Patrik himself in his very intimate surroundings.
The play starts with a baby crying in a cradle and a series of futile efforts to make the infant sleep. Through a series of ingenious transitions we then move to a collection of scenes. We do not want to spoil the play. Suffice to say that on an emotional level we see a collection of scenes that depict Patrik’s inner subpersonalities from the super ego represented by a French chef working on the recipe of a cake, to the vulnerable inner-child exposed in his bizarre relationship with his fiancée Bernadette.
All of this draws the audience to Patrik creating a bond right from the start that makes plausible whatever he creates on the stage. Particularly impressive is the use of his voice which is perfectly coordinated with his actions. At times his ability as a sound effects artist comes closer to the skill of a ventriloquist creating multiple characters on the stage and adding a depth to his truly outstanding mime performance.
If we had to find something that could be added to the play that would be a poetic moment. Patrik is definitely able to make us laugh. I wonder if he could use that power to make us cry as well.
Overall an excellent performance and a must-see show in this 2025 edition of Avignon Off.
