Press and Testimonials

«The theatre comedy "Mad maths" presents the two most unusual teachers you can imagine. Armed with chalk and measuring tapes, Mademoiselle X and Mademoiselle Y aim to heal all those with maths phobia, and teach the audience more about their favourite subject.»

«Mad Maths is clearly an original play about a subject which is not easy at first: mathematics. Mr. X and Mr. Y's goal, over the course of an hour, is to make math enjoyable and sure enough they make good on their promise.»

«Mr X et Mr Y, deux professeurs doux-dingues, continuent en effet de tenir conférence partout en France, réconciliant bon nombre d'entre nous avec le cauchemar de nos premières années d'école. En utilisant livres d'histoire des mathématiques et souvenirs d'écoliers, ils font naître l'absurde, l'humour et la poésie de la plus sérieuse et rigoureuse des matières scolaires.»

«Then came "MAD MATHS" and that's when it was like someone had FINALLY, FINALLY given me a decoder ring! In addition to being educational, this play is irresistibly funny. Thanks to the talents of KEVIN LAPIN and OLIVIER FALIEZ who were able to meld British Humor, dynamic staging and the elucidation of various mathematical mysteries.»

«The duo demonstrate how our system of numbering is above all cultural. They translate any number, even negative, into animal sounds. They reveal how rich mathematical language can be, in the vein of Raymond Devos, Vincent Roca and Monty Python, and with a rigorousness that is as strict as it is hilarious.»

«From rap to the beats of the "Music of Fractions", algebra, arithmetic, trigonometry and other logarithms, all become fodder for joy for the teachers and students. Nutty, interactive and very instructive, everything in the show is as true as it is funny. In this class that has gone off the rails, there are no mathematical errors.»

«Comme le théâtre, les mathématiques sont perçues comme déconnectée du quotidien. Pour tordre le cou aux idées reçues, Olivier Faliez et Kevin Lapin mêlent ces deux univers dans Mad Maths une pièce originale, intelligente... et drôle par dessus-le marché !»

«The recipe for this success seems to be the subtle mixture of punchy humor, fast pace and the rigor of the mathematical subjects on which the play is based. Indeed, the scenes are excellently performed by the actors, they are funny and yet also educational. From beginning to end, we were entertained and interested by this unusual combination of comedy and science. The characters furthermore connect with the audience and invite them to reflect and even participate at points in the show. As a result, Mad Maths in form and function serves as a remarkably pertinent and pedagogical performance.»

«It's the dramatic twists, the word play, the absurd examples which expound the ideas that give the play its true charm. With very little set or props, two actors illustrate the history and discovery of irrational numbers, systems of numeration, functions, trigonometry and more… It's a show which is chock full of humor but also intelligence.»

«Having discovered this "poetic-burlesque" conference at one of the black box theaters of the Théâtre de Béliers during the Avignon OFF festival, I had planned to have it performed in our Cabaret space, a 90 seat theater. But the clamor of our subscribers to see this original piece and its topic was such that we not only had to add extra performances, but also switch two of them to the larger 850 seat theater space. This unexpected but well deserved success remains one of the happy surprises of our programming and speaks to the relevance of the show.»