Today I learned that in France there was a profession for clapping and cheering around theatres. Someone executing this profession was called “claqueur”. While the job is named after clapping their actual duties/offerings were much more diverse. From “chauffeurs” who were praising the event at announcements, over “connaisseurs” who provided positive feedback among the audience members during breaks, to “bisseurs” who were calling for an encore at the end of a play. All that was obviously paid for by the theatre or someone who wanted the play to be successful. And as it turned out, at some point in history that was even a well-paid job.

I came across this when watching another episode of “Wissen macht Ah!” and checking the German Wikipedia afterwards. Sadly the English article is not that detailed. Still amazing and I think the profession itself is not dead in our modern world.