FFact evenings: a new world of English-speaking entertainment

Tuesday: just another boring weekday for expats in Brussels?

Not anymore: once a month Tuesday, a new and exciting type of evening is taking place at the Theatre de la Toison d’Or (TTO). The concept is called FFact- Fun, Food and Acting – and its purpose is to reach out to the growing and bubbling Brussels expat community by having the shows in English.

“One in three people are of foreign descent in Brussels, and 1one in 10 are considered an expat” explains the FFact website. Still, as TTO’s Joy Jouret says, “these expats are limited in terms of entertainment in Brussels. Besides going to the cinema or having drinks, they have no real cultural offer in English.”

Ffact’s winning recipe: fun, food and interaction

Proposing everything from comedic cooking classes to magic acts, sketches to cabaret, FFact offers a vibrant programme every month. “FFact’s common ground remains laughter,” says Jouret, chuckling, “because our theory is, after a stressful day at work, you just want to relax with friends and have a good laugh.”

That’s the ‘fun’ element of FFact. As for the ‘food’ element: “Food is an important aspect of our lives,” says Jouret, “not to mention, the TTO has an amazing Brussels chef cooking, who takes you on a culinary ride every time!”

The third element, ‘act’, “is actually about interactivity. We don’t want a conventional show where people just sit and watch,” explains Jouret. Instead, FFact seeks person-to-person interaction between the audience and artist. 

An all-star line up

Laughter was certainly not lacking during FFact’s most recent monthly event on February 25. Called How to Become a Parisian in One Hour, this comedy show had you bent double as Olivier Giraud, a Frenchie himself, took a playful poke at his compatriots as well as international tourists living in what is for some the capital of romance and for others just “merde!” With live audience participation and videos produced during the show, there was also no question about the interactivity part. Meanwhile, the food element encircled the main event, with a specially prepared à la carte menu available in the Café Georgette before and after the show.

The next FFact nights will be on March 25 and May 6. On the bill are Carlo and Sergio from Mmmmh!, a talented and hilarious live cooking duo, as well as British satire and cabaret with theBlue Stocking Society.

“We are also looking into offering FFact entertainment in other languages,” adds Jouret. “We are totally open to that. As a universal expat language, English was a good start, but our goal is to continue opening language doors in Brussels.”

www.ffact.be