West End Frenchies – Voulez-Vous Sing With Me Tonight – Brasserie Toulouse Lautrec

Francesca Fenech and Sarah Naudi in West End Frenchies at the Brasserie Toulouse Lautrec, London

West End Frenchies – Voulez-Vous Sing With Me Tonight – Brasserie Toulouse Lautrec, London.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

The brainchild of multi award-winning conductor, pianist and composer Samuel Sene, West End Frenchies is a monthly event composed of a showcase or cabaret performance by a French or French-speaking artist working in the West End, followed by an Open Mic, welcoming members of the thriving French musical theatre community in London.

The aim of these gatherings is to try to unite all French-speaking musical theatre writers and performers living in London. It is also an information network aimed at facilitating creative projects between London and Paris, hence the title, Voulez-Vous Sing With Me Tonight. This month, the concert highlighted the talent of French Maltese performer, Sarah Naudi, who trained at Arts Ed and can currently be seen as Carla and understudy for Nina and Vanessa in In the Heights at the King’s Cross Theatre. She also played a small role in Angelina Jolie’s movie By the Sea.

Aside from a selection from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s show, including ‘Champagne’, with her co-star Michael Cortez, and ‘Breathe’, showing off the talent of another In the Heights cast member, Gabriela Garcia, Naudi’s set was eclectic. Other highlights were her duet with Garcia to ‘Baby, Dream Your Dream’ from the musical Sweet Charity and her impressive rendition of ‘Vivre’ from the French musical Notre-Dame de Paris. Garcia also stood out in ‘Out Tonight’ from Rent and Naudi’s other surprise guest, Francesca Fenech, sung a rarely performed Cy Coleman ditty ‘Nobody Does It Like Me’ from Seasaw, followed by a moving duet from Naudi and Fenech called ‘Dancing On My Own’.

The packed audience at the loft of the Brasserie Toulouse Lautrec was then treated to a high-level Open Mic session with the irrepressible sight reader Samuel Sene at the piano, co-hosted in English and French by French American performer Quentin Bruno and Sarah Tullamore (French cast of Sister Act, just launched her one-woman show London-Paris-Roam! at the Jermyn Street Theatre).

The next West End Frenchies on Wednesday 2 March will showcase the talent of Laetitia Ayres with her autobiographical one-woman show Judy, Barbra and Me.

Patrick Honoré