bête de scène

Borrowed from French bête de scène (“beast of the stage”).

• IPA^(key): /beɪt də sɛn/

bête de scène (plural bêtes de scène)

1. A feral player; an actor whose intense performance is likened to a wild animal.
   • 2007, John Gaffney, Diana Holmes, Stardom in postwar France, Berghahn Books, page 81:

     "Hallyday was often described as a bête de scène, a charismatic showman who gives his all, to the point of smashing his guitar on stage."

2. A performer with innate talent.

• Bêtes de scène. Anne Bouvier Cavoret, 2002
• Insiders' French: beyond the dictionary. Michel Levieux, 1999