Du charbon dans les veines: a moving story at the Théâtre Saint Georges

Du charbon dans les veines, the latest play by playwright Jean-Philippe Daguerre, runs at the Théâtre Saint-Georges until April 2025. The play tackles themes such as friendship, love, racism, illness and the female condition, offering a reflection on the life of miners and the social challenges of the time.

In Du charbon dans les veines, Jean-Philippe Daguerre takes us from the Théâtre Saint-Georges to Noeux-les-Mines, a small mining town in northern France, in 1958. Pierre and Vlad are inseparable, bound by an unshakeable friendship. Their daily lives are divided between the mine's dark galleries, raising carrier pigeons and rehearsing with the local orchestra. Headed by Sosthène, a jovial, philosophical conductor, the warm, colorful community comes alive, despite the omnipresence of coal dust. But the balance of their world is upset when the talented and charming Leila joins the orchestra with her accordion. Her presence upsets the dynamic between the two friends and changes their lives forever...

• To be read
• Tips for the week of March 24-30, 2025 in Paris: free or inexpensive outings

Jean-Philippe Daguerre first came to public attention with his Molière award-winning play Adieu Monsieur Haffmann, which explores moral dilemmas in the midst of the Second World War. Appreciated for his talent for blending historical drama, humanism and universal reflections, as in Du charbon dans les veines, which evokes the challenges faced by miners in the 1950s, to be discovered at Théâtre Saint Georges.