A Parisian drag cabaret club that has hosted singers such as Liza Minnelli and Serge Gainsbourg is closing its doors due to financial struggles. Chez Michou, which lies in the hilltop neighbourhood of Montmartre in the French capital, announced in a Facebook post Monday that it will be closing its doors with "great regret" due to "financial reasons." The club said it staged its last performance on Sunday evening, using its Facebook post to thank its final audience for "making the evening so festive and moving.
" READ MORE: Always cold on airplanes? A flight attendant explains the unexpected reason why Chez Michou was founded in 1956 by cabaret artist Michel Catty, known simply as Michou. Michou's colourful drag performances made him a household name in France and he was known for habitually dressing in extravagant blue outfits. Michou was still running his club when he died in February 2020.
French President Emmanuel Macron was one of the many high-profile figures to pay tribute, saying after he died that "the sky of Montmartre, from now on, will be a little less blue." His storied club inspired the classic 1978 French film "La Cage aux Folles," which was later remade into Hollywood title "The Birdcage" starring Robin Williams in 1996. In recent years, however, the club came into financial difficulty, and will now be unable to honour its bookings for the coming months.
Just last week, it announced its participation in a pride event in Liege, Belgium, in August. READ MORE: Crui.
