Recalled in the memoir
The Big Sea
Hughes recalls dancing here with Anne Marie Coussey, whom he calls Mary, during their spring 1924 romance.
Moulin Rouge
Rebuilt on the site
Hours or admission
Still the same
Where Colette's 1907 mime with her lover Mathilde de Morny set off a riot and was banned by the police — her most notorious Paris performance.
- 82 boulevard de Clichy, 75018 Paris
- 1889–present
Illustration
The place, briefly
On 3 January 1907 Colette took the stage at the Moulin Rouge in Rêve d'Égypte, a mime in which she played a mummy unwrapped and revived by an archaeologist. The archaeologist was Mathilde de Morny — known as Missy, the Marquise de Belbeuf — Colette's lover, who performed in men's dress. Their kiss brought an uproar in the hall, with catcalls and thrown objects from part of the audience.
The prefect of police, Louis Lépine, forbade Missy to appear again in the piece. It was reworked as Songe d'Orient and then banned outright. The episode made the relationship public in the crudest way and fixed Colette's reputation for scandal during the years she and Missy lived openly together.
In the spring of 1924, Langston Hughes came here to dance with Anne Marie Coussey, the English-Nigerian woman he calls Mary in The Big Sea. Hughes was washing dishes on the night shift at Le Grand Duc and seldom had money for their outings; Mary had an allowance and paid until, as he remembered it, whose money they spent stopped mattering. The Moulin Rouge belongs to the private love story of his Paris year, not to his working life in the clubs.
The Moulin Rouge had opened in 1889, co-founded by Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler. The hall Colette performed in was destroyed by fire in 1915; the cabaret reopened in 1925 in the rebuilt house that stands today at 82 boulevard de Clichy.
Key facts
- 82 boulevard de Clichy, 18th arrondissement
- 1889, by Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler
- Rêve d'Égypte, 3 January 1907, with Mathilde de Morny (Missy) — the performance was banned
- Danced here with Mary in spring 1924, during his months working nights at Le Grand Duc
- Still operating; the present building dates from 1925 after a fire
In images
Timeline
Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler open the Moulin Rouge in Montmartre.
Colette and Mathilde de Morny perform Rêve d'Égypte on 3 January; the police ban the piece.
Fire destroys the original hall.
Langston Hughes and Mary come here dancing during their spring romance.
The Moulin Rouge reopens in the rebuilt house that stands today.
On the map
Questions before you go
Did Colette perform at the Moulin Rouge?
Yes. On 3 January 1907 she appeared in the mime Rêve d'Égypte with her lover Mathilde de Morny. Their on-stage kiss caused an uproar, and the police then banned the piece.
What was the Rêve d'Égypte scandal?
In the mime, Colette played a mummy revived by an archaeologist played by Mathilde de Morny, in men's dress. Their kiss set off a riot in the hall. The prefect of police forbade Morny to appear, the piece was reworked as Songe d'Orient, and it was then banned.
Who was Missy?
Mathilde de Morny, the Marquise de Belbeuf, known as Missy — Colette's partner in these years, who often dressed in men's clothes. She performed opposite Colette at the Moulin Rouge in 1907.
Is the Moulin Rouge still the same building Colette knew?
No. The hall she performed in burned down in 1915. The cabaret reopened in 1925 in a rebuilt house, which still operates at 82 boulevard de Clichy.
When did the Moulin Rouge open?
In 1889, co-founded by Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler at the foot of Montmartre.
Did Langston Hughes go to the Moulin Rouge?
Yes. In The Big Sea he remembers going dancing here with Mary, Anne Marie Coussey, in spring 1924. Hughes had very little money during his Paris year, and Mary usually paid for their outings.
Related books
Writers who knew this place
Colette
Performed here · 1907
Colette performed the mime Rêve d'Égypte with Mathilde de Morny (Missy) on 3 January 1907; their kiss caused a riot, and the police banned the piece.
Langston Hughes
Visited by
Hughes danced here with Anne Marie Coussey, whom he calls Mary, during their spring 1924 romance.
Within walking distance
Hotel Liseux and Café Liseux
The surviving Pigalle corner where the vanished Café Liseux and Hotel Liseux stood, and where Langston Hughes lodged during his 1937 and 1938 returns to Paris.
Visit the place
Zelli's
Crowded, smoky, and loud — Joe Zelli's Montmartre boîte, where the music hits you at the door and the novel's Paris nights go to end.
Visit the place
Place de Clichy
The crossroads where four arrondissements collide — and where Louis-Ferdinand Céline opens Journey to the End of the Night at a café table, with a recruitment parade passing and his narrator Bardamu jumping up to join the war.
Visit the place
Pigalle
The strip along the boulevard de Clichy below Montmartre, where the studios and the cabarets shared a pavement until only the second kind was left.
Visit the placeThe Friday Letter
Paris, one address at a time.
The cafés, studios, and walk-up flats where the work was made — one story from the map in every letter.