Pétanque wasn’t being played in the Warsaw Ghetto at the Montparnasse Theatre.

We weren’t playing pétanque in the Warsaw ghetto, Éric Feldman’s one-man show directed by Olivier Veillon, returns to Paris at the Théâtre Montparnasse from August 31 to October 27, 2026. After its run at the Théâtre du Petit Saint-Martin, this production continues its Paris engagement in a form that blends performance art with stand-up, a lecture, and intimate storytelling.

Eric Feldman delves into the legacy left by the traumas of the Shoah within his own family. His parents, uncles, and aunts are among the “hidden children”—survivors of World War II—whose memories thread through the show. Building on this family story, the author-performer crafts a narrative where dark humor, self-mockery, and meandering thought sit alongside the gravity of the subject.

The show’s title borrows a family saying that becomes the starting point for a meditation on what is handed down, what is kept quiet, and what reappears in future generations. On stage, Éric Feldman explores how a heir to this memory can talk about it today—without melodrama, but without erasing it.

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The show is by Éric Feldman, with direction by Olivier Veillon. The Montparnasse Theatre program describes it as a “stand-up of art and experiment, a lecture and a confession,” a label that encapsulates the hybrid nature of this piece, blending memoir, humor and memory theater.

There Was No Pétanque Played in the Warsaw Ghetto speaks primarily to audiences drawn to solo performances, memoir storytelling, and forms that explore intimate history through humor and direct speech. The show is scheduled at Théâtre Montparnasse in the 14th arrondissement, Mondays at 9:00 PM and Tuesdays at 7:00 PM, with an announced running time of 1 hour and 15 minutes.

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