I had heard a lot about Le Son et Lumière at Bon Repos but had never seen it. Now I have.
I waited for the 30th anniversary celebration of the event before discovering this grand show in the heart of Brittany.
Rendez-vous 10.30pm at l’Abbaye de Bon Repos. I sat in the tier of seats opposite the Abbey and then it started. The lights came up for a 2 hour show of light and sound.
Two characters appear: Yffig and Fanch. As the story goes, during a fishing trip they accidentally empty the lake which awakes the Grand Thua, the soul of Bon Repos. To repair the damage they have caused, they have to find a mysterious missing link. Dame Firefly, the guardian of the sleepy lake, comes to help them and invites them to go on a quest across the ages to find the missing link.
For 2 hours, we were taken on a journey through time played out in 10 scenes :
- The Roman invasion
- The market
- Conomor, Brittany’s Bluebeard
- Les Bonnets Rouges
- Alain IV of the House of Rohan and the 3rd crusade
- Saint Geniès
- Chouans
- The finale
The time flew by. The show came to life thanks to 350 extras in magnificent costumes. Horses, geese, cows, hens : animals also go to make up part and parcel of the show.
The stage design is impressive. Giant images are projected onto the Abbey, which comes to life when it is lit up. Added to this, there are special pyrotechnic effects, mesmerising music, and equestrian jousts. All the elements come together to take you on a journey through time.
Visually, the show is sublime, musically it’s beautiful and what’s more it’s also educational. This amazing show helped me understand some episodes of Breton history as well as the history of central Brittany in particular.
The magic of the performance even managed to make me forget the falling rain which didn’t spoil the magic of the Son et Lumière.