Lettres D'excuses - Patrick Chesnais - Tournée

Patrick Chesnais brings Lettres d'excuses to Radiant-Bellevue

At Radiant-Bellevue, we are delighted to welcome Patrick Chesnais for an evening shaped by the understated power and wit of Lettres d'excuses. From our stage just outside central Lyon, we will host this refined theatrical moment in which the precision of a great actor meets the intimacy of living words. Lettres d'excuses invites audiences to listen in on the delicate art of apology—letters that reveal our foibles, our tenderness, our pride, and our need for forgiveness—played with nuance, humor, and restraint. In our auditorium, the clarity of the acoustics and the finesse of the light will frame every breath, every hesitation, every smile in the text, so that spectators can savour the grain of the voice and the rhythm of the sentences. Radiant-Bellevue thrives on encounters that feel both immediate and enduring; hosting this date of the tournée aligns perfectly with our mission to offer experiences where simplicity of staging serves the complexity of feelings. Expect an evening that shifts, gently but definitely, from laughter to reflection and back again.

An artist in motion: presence, craft, and dialogue with the public

Patrick Chesnais has long been one of those rare figures who move easily between cinema, television, and theatre, carrying with him a sense of measure and musicality that audiences instantly recognize. An award-winning presence on screen and a meticulous craftsman on stage, he has, in recent seasons, redoubled his commitment to live performance, embracing intimate formats in which the text itself leads the way. Lettres d'excuses belongs to that living tradition: a conversation with the audience, orchestrated by a performer who understands that silence can be as eloquent as a line, and that a well-placed inflection can color an entire scene. As a venue, we value this kind of encounter—no excess, no ornament, only the essential contact between performer, words, and listeners. Chesnais’s current artistic momentum has taken him across France, where he cultivates a dialogue with audiences of all generations; we are proud to add Radiant-Bellevue to that map and to prepare the conditions—light, sound, and atmosphere—that allow his artistry to breathe.

What will you find on our stage for Lettres d'excuses? Above all, a dramaturgy of proximity. The gesture is minimal, the scenography precise, and the pacing calibrated so each letter becomes a small world: some mischievous, others vulnerable, occasionally caustic, always human. The play of tones—apology that masks bravado, confession that turns to tenderness, clumsy admissions that become unexpectedly poetic—will unfold with a clarity that our hall is designed to magnify. We place the audience close to the performer’s breath and heartbeat, so that every shade of irony and empathy can be felt. In the Lyon area, Radiant-Bellevue has become a home for works that open a space for listening; this evening belongs to that lineage. Whether you come for the pleasure of seeing Patrick Chesnais up close, for the quiet thrill of finely written letters, or for the communal experience that only a theatre can offer, you will find at Radiant-Bellevue a setting attentive to detail, ready to serve the text and the performer with warmth and precision.