| Moviegoers have a choice of around three hundred films showing in any one week. The scene isn't limited to contemporary French films and Hollywood budget-busters, though there are plenty of these, but takes in classics from all eras and a diverse spread of films from all over the world. In Paris, you can walk into a beautiful old cinema and watch a film that you'd struggle to find on video in another city. The city also has a vibrant theatre scene. Several superstar directors are based here, such as Peter Brook and Ariane Mnouchkine, renowned for their highly innovative, cutting-edge performances. As an obvious stop-off point for touring troupes, Paris is also a great place to catch the pick of the season's festivals. More space is slowly being given over to the exciting developments in dance and multi-genre stage performances, some of it incorporating mime, which, alas, is rarely performed in its own right these days. As for cabarets, with names that conjure up the classic connotations of the sinful city – the Lido or the Moulin Rouge – they thrive off group bookings for a dinner-and-show formula that is extortionately priced, and retains none of the populist, bawdy atmosphere depicted in Toulouse-Lautrec's sketches. Listings for all films and stage productions are detailed in Pariscope and other weeklies, with brief résumés or reviews. Venues with wheelchair access will say "accessible aux handicapés". Note that it's common practice in Parisian theatres and occasionally in independent cinemas for the ushers to expect a small tip from each customer (€1 or so).
Pages in section ‘Film, theatre and dance’: Film, Theatre, Dance and mime.
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