Madame Arthur is a drag cabaret venue in the

Rue des Martyrs The Rue des Martyrs is a street that passes through the 9th and 18th arrondissements of Paris, France. The street is an old historic route in Pigalle leading up to the village of Montmartre, linking the church of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette with Sa ...

18th arrondissement of Paris The 18th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''dix-huitième''. The arrondissement, known as Butte-Montmartr ...

. It is named after the synonymous song.

History

Madame Arthur opened in 1946 as the first transvestite cabaret, which took its name from the famous song written in 1860 by

Paul de Kock Charles Paul de Kock (May 21, 1793 in Passy, Paris – April 27, 1871 in Paris) was a French novelist. Although one of the most popular writers of his day in terms of book sales, he acquired a literary reputation for low-brow output in poor tast ...

and performed by

Yvette Guilbert Yvette Guilbert (; born Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, 20 January 1865 – 3 February 1944) was a French cabaret singer and actress of the ''Belle Époque''. Biography Born in Paris into a poor family as Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, Guilbert be ...

. Having been closed for many years, it was entirely restored and reopened in November 2015 by

Divan du Monde Le Divan du Monde ('The World Divan') is a converted theatre, now functioning as a concert space, located at 75 rue des Martyrs, in the 18th arrondissement, in the Pigalle neighborhood of Paris. History At the beginning of the 19th century, t ...

, which has the neighbouring venue.

Coccinelle Jacqueline Charlotte Dufresnoy (23 August 1931 – 9 October 2006), better known by her stage name Coccinelle, was a French actress, entertainer and singer. She was transgender, and was the first widely publicized post-war gender reassignment ca ...

began her entertainment work at Madame Arthur.

Marie-Pierre Pruvot Marie-Pierre Pruvot (also known under the pseudonym Marie-Pier Ysser; born 11 November 1935) is an Algerian-born French transgender woman who performed under the stage name Bambi. She performed in a transgender showgirl revue at Le Carrousel de ...

(known as Bambi) also worked there.

References

Cabarets in Paris Drag (clothing) Entertainment venues in Paris LGBT culture in Paris LGBT nightclubs {{France-theat-struct-stub