French Deal

Pointy hats - a winner

When those 24 green pine tree outfits and nightmare- to-make pointy hats came on stage, I nearly burst into song. The scene had nothing to do with the main plot of the 2009 Sauveterre Spectacle, but then, lots of bits don’t. Random green frogs; people sitting on chairs saying ‘bonjour’ to each other; a giant Remington typewriter are all part of the delight that is the artistic two-night celebration of all things Sauveterre de Bearn over its many decades.

For one year the plot is hatched; six months out the rehearsals start and four months out the costumes are made. In a tumbly building, down a side street of the walled town, up rickety oak stairs lies a fantasy world of musketeers, medieval maidens, masks, ruffs, frills, pins, cottons and two sewing machines. Under the auspices of the Atelier Queen – Gaby – everything is labelled with precision, every coat hanger hangs in the right order of the clothes group. Together the items encapsulate years of dedication and hard work.

That’s where the pointy hats were made and these left me with bleeding fingers and major worry, because even though it is an amateur performance, nothing less than perfection is accepted in the Atelier. As I sat sewing I would learn about births, deaths, liaisons, diets, how to cook the best pipperade, when to put leeks into the ground and who makes the best tuilles d’amandes.

Imagine my pride when I got a mention at the end of each performance for my efforts in the Atelier. Can’t wait now for 2011 and I don’t care how many pointy hats have to be made then, I’m in.