Piaf

Piaf: Octagon Theatre Bolton

French singer and cultural icon Edith Piaf is celebrated in this powerful musical drama following her rise from the streets of Paris to the international stage.

The life and career of Piaf is as unique as her distinctive singing style. Raised in a brothel by her grandmother whilst her parents worked as performers, Piaf sang in public for the first time in 1929, aged 14, when she joined her father in his acrobatic street shows. The years that followed were spent as a street singer and it was in 1935 that she was discovered by a nightclub owner, starting her career in an exclusive club off the Champs-Elysees.

Piaf became known as the 'little sparrow', so called for her petite frame and extreme nervousness at singing on stage, her fragile appearance creating a striking contrast against her powerful and mesmerising voice. But as her popularity and fame increased so too did the drama that was to shape her life. Connections to the French Resistance, addictions to morphine and alcohol, a dramatic love life that was to end in tragedy, and rumours of links to 'the mob' were all to contribute to her enigmatic and ill-fated life.

Featuring the iconic torch songs La Vie En Rose and Non, Je ne Regrette Rien performed live on stage, Piaf vividly portrays the rise and fall of this charismatic and unforgettable performer. This is the compelling and powerful story about the life of a woman who did it her way.