Chanson: A Two-Act Play (A Story of Forbidden Love Set During the German Occupation of Paris)

The French singer, Marcel~brooding, mysterious and from the wrong side of the tracks, arrived in Paris in 1934 and was discovered singing in the streets by Gerard,the city's most prominent impresario. When the play opens it is 1944. Paris is under the Nazi jackboot and Marcel is star attraction at Levalle's, the most fashionable nightclub in Paris. When Gerard is murdered, Marcel's life falls apart. He ends his relationship with his girlfriend, and his mistress can no longer see him because her husband is home on leave. While trudging the streets late at night, drunk and disorientated after curfew, he is picked up by Jurgen, a young German lieutenant who has worshipped him from afar. Initially, their relationship is platonic. As time passes,a deep bond develops between the two as Marcel fights his demons to rebuild his shattered career~while the Liberation approaches, bringing triumph and tragedy in equal measure. David Bret is a leading authority on the French music-hall. WARNING:contains strong language.