Cab Story: a play that challenges the conventions of traditional theater - our review

Would you like to see a play outside the theater? That's what the Zone 34 company is offering with their new show Taxi Story. Extended in January 2025, the play overturns the conventions of traditional theater, conceived as a veritable visual and aural experience.

In Taxi Story, a lonely cab driver embarks on a journey through time in an attempt to save his love. Saturday, September 22, 2018: Léo and Julie are each in a reality that keeps them apart; Friday, September 13, 2013: Julie enters Léo's cab for the first time. Five years have passed, but what have they really experienced in all that time? This visual and aural experience blurs the boundaries between past and present, and introduces us to an innovative and promising form of theater.

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The play takes a step back from theater and moves closer to cinema, with the actors facing a mirror but their backs to the audience. The lighting effects and music will envelop the audience in an atmosphere that is both intense and intimate, reinforced by a deliberately limited capacity of just 16 people.

The performance doesn't take place in a traditional theater, but in a training facility for directors and actors called Zone 34, located at 78 boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris's 5th arrondissement . The next performances take place on December 10 and 13, 2024, and January 14 and 17, 2025.

Our review:

The Zone 34 team has succeeded in its artistic mission! Once you've arrived at their premises, you're ushered into a room where two actors are already waiting for you, seated on two chairs in front of a mirror. You take your place in front of the mirror in this dimly lit room, and the play begins! The spectator can watch the play from two angles, either looking at the actors or at the mirror: an unusual staging that starts the play off with a bang.

We're quickly swept up in the story of the two protagonists: we witness various scenes from their lives, and a story comes to life before our very eyes. The closeness of the actors in this small room invites us to really enter their story and experience their emotions. The two actors ( Cyril Durel and Naima Maurel ) are impressively skilled, and will transport you into their deeply moving story. If you're looking for an out-of-the-ordinary theatrical experience, Taxi Story is a must-see.

Please note that the auditorium is quite small and some passages take place in the dark, so claustrophobic people may not be comfortable with this staging.