“Macron, the artificial intelligence”: a scathing political satire at the Théâtre des Deux Ânes

15 October 2024 / Laurene Thierry

Don't be fooled by its title: "Macron, the artificial intelligent", the latest review from the Théâtre des Deux Ânes, is not a reflection on new technologies or artificial intelligence. Here, it is the machinery politicians who are in the hot seat. In this show orchestrated by Jacques Mailhot, comedians, singers and imitators take a malicious pleasure in scratching political figures from all sides. No one is spared: right, left, environmentalists or centrists, all go under their sharp scalpel. 

On stage, the artists juggle multiple forms and styles of humor. They make us laugh in song, in the more classic setting of the one-man show (in prose or improvised verse), or in astonishing voice imitations.

Pierre Douglas, veteran of Deux Ânes, opens the show with a parodic press review before tracing the presidential history of the Fifth Republic in song – not forgetting his imitation of Georges Marchais. Florence Brunold, for her part, offers in a one-woman show a memorable satirical fable in which she explores French politics by comparing it to her vegetable garden. She evokes its great figures who grow more or less well, depending on the corner, right or left, where they have taken root. Between the creeping, the prickly and the tenacious, satire finds its full place in this botanical metaphor. Finally, Amaury Gonzague brilliantly embodies an out-of-touch aristocrat, lost in an era that is no longer his own. The aristo confronted with modernity ridicules himself with disarming self-mockery. When he interweaves expressions like "wesh" or "his race" with his worldly speeches, he creates a contrast that is as unexpected as it is hilarious, reinforcing the comic effect of his character.

Between two numbers, Émilie-Anne Charlotte also appears, giving the show some musical breathing space. She tackles the failings of political life with well-known tunes, such as "La valse à mille temps", adapted with a scathing humor. Yann Jamet, a seasoned imitator with more than twenty years of career and 50 characters in stock, closes the show by accurately reproducing the voices of personalities such as Véronique Sanson, Patrick Bruel, Fabrice Luchini and Julien Clerc. 

In short, Macron, l'intelligent artificiel is a biting political review where the entire political landscape is put through the mill of impertinence. The artists take turns throughout the evenings. Thus, Michel Guidoni and Jean-Pierre Marville, for example, alternate with those mentioned above. To be discovered at Two Donkeys Theater until April 27, 2025.