Hit Robin Hood musical attracts 1,000s to archery in France

Robin de Bois premiered on 26 September last year in Paris and stars famous singer M Pokora as the title character. Pokora is a multi-award winning pop artist and past competitor on Dancing with the Stars in France.

After a two-month residency at the Palais des Congrès, the show toured throughout France, Switzerland (Geneva) and Belgium (Brussels) from January to June this year.

Robin de Bois tells the story of Robin launching a rescue attempt to save his and Maid Marion’s son. The son has been imprisoned by the Sherriff of Nottingham, Marion’s father in this story, as revenge for the ‘prince of thieves’ – Robin – stealing his daughter.

FFTA, the national archery federation in France, negotiated a partnership with RDBP, the producers behind this reimagining of the popular legend, to promote archery at 17 of the stops on the show’s tour. Since January this year, over 12,000 people tried archery at have-a-goes run alongside the production.

 “The federation’s booth never emptied,” said Laurence Frere, Marketing and Communications Director for the FFTA. “A natural association between Robin Hood and the sport of archery has led real legitimacy to the initiative.”

It has also provided the opportune moment for archery to capture the audience’s attention – and a mostly family and younger female audience, due to popular star M Pokora: while their interest in Robin Hood and archery is at a peak.

The FFTA will be able to measure the impact in terms of new members as clubs are asked to indicate if their new members came after discovering archery on the Robin Hood tour.

For more information on the partnership between Robin de Bois and the FFTA, please contact Laurence Frere.

Follow the Robin de Bois musical on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and visit the official website: www.robindesbois-lespecatacle.fr

Photos © Jean-Denis GITTON / FFTA