Sophie Marceau returns in LOL 2.0 as a grandmother: film earns 8.4m

Theatre will endure long after humanity’s final curtain falls, argues French critic Christophe Donner in a sweeping defence of the live arts published today. Donner’s essay, headlined in *L’Express*, arrives as the annual *Festival Regiony* in Hradec Králové unveils 400 productions, offering a snapshot of contemporary European stages from toxic fatherhood to gender equity and even football as dramatic material.

Festival organisers have curated seven standout performances that encapsulate the season’s preoccupations. Among them is *Toxic Fathers*, a Czech-language piece probing paternal legacy; *Engaged Seniors*, a Polish co-production on activism in later life; and *Men of Tomorrow*, a devised work from Berlin questioning masculinity in 2026. The programme also spotlights women directors fighting for creative space, including Prague-based collective *Scena 21*, whose new play *No Backstage* premieres on 21 June. Football, too, has entered the theatrical arena: *Offside* by Bratislava’s *Divadlo Aréna* reimagines stadium chants as choral verse, opening on 20 June.

Meanwhile, across the continent, Sophie Marceau returns to the screen in *LOL 2.0*, a sequel to the 2008 teen comedy that launched a franchise. The German daily *Tagesspiegel* calls the film “a comfort-food update for Generation Z,” while Austria’s *Die Presse* notes the absence of the original’s iconic chicken-dance scene but praises Marceau’s cameo as a grandmother—“an Enkerl,” in Viennese parlance. The sequel, shot in Paris and Marseille, opened in cinemas on 12 June and has already grossed €8.4 million in France alone .

Back in the Czech Republic, Liberec’s *Divadlo F. X. Šaldy* has announced its 2026–27 season under the thematic banner *In Temptation*. Twelve premieres and three concerts will explore seduction, power, and moral compromise, including a new adaptation of *Faust* and a circus-theatre hybrid, *Cirkus Humberto*. The season also marks a leadership change: Petr Michálek, former director of municipal theatres in Děčín and Zlín, will succeed Linda Hejlová Keprtová from August.

Elsewhere, a feline stole the show in Izmir, Turkey, when a cat wandered onto the stage during the final ballet of *Romeo and Juliet* at the İzmir State Opera and Ballet. The animal, later identified as a stray named “Capulet,” became an unwitting co-star, prompting a standing ovation and a social-media frenzy under the hashtag #CatJuliet.

From Hradec Králové’s stages to Istanbul’s ballet floors, the performing arts are proving resilient, adaptable, and unexpectedly inclusive—whether through Sophie Marceau’s grand-maternal turn or a stray cat’s impromptu pas de deux.