Théâtre Antoine-Simone Berriau

Théâtre Antoine
Théâtre des Menus-Plaisirs (1866-1874 • 1877-1879 • 1882-1888); Théâtre des Arts (1874-1876 • 1879-1881); Opéra-Bouffe (1876-1877); Comédie-Parisienne (1881); Théâtre-Libre (1888-1897)
	The Théâtre Antoine in 2007
Address	14 Boulevard de Strasbourg; Paris
Coordinates	48°52′14″N 2°21′19″E / 48.870558°N 2.355367°E
Capacity	780
Opened	1866; 158 years ago
Website
	www.theatre-antoine.com

Théâtre Antoine-Simone Berriau (French pronunciation: [teatʁ ɑ̃twan simɔn beʁjo]) is a theater located at 14 boulevard de Strasbourg in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.

The 800-seat Italian Style theater was built in the year 1866. It functioned under a variety of names through the years, opening as Theatre des Menus-Plaisirs^[1] ([titʁ de məny plɛziʁ]; 1866–1874, 1877–1879, 1882–1888), then Théâtre des Arts ([teatʁ dez‿aʁ]; 1874–1876, 1879–1881), Opéra-Bouffe ([ɔpeʁa buf]; 1876–1877), and the Comédie-Parisienne ([kɔmedi paʁizjɛn]; 1881).

Théâtre-Libre (1888-1897) and Théâtre-Antoine (1897-1906)

In 1888 it became the venue for the Théâtre Libre company of André Antoine. Although short-lived, lasting only eight years, the theater's pioneering naturalism proved extremely influential. Antoine departed in 1894 under financial pressure, the enterprise closed in 1896, but Antoine returned the following year to the renamed Théâtre Antoine^[2] with a more deliberately provocative program that lasted until 1906.

From 1943 onwards

The theater now bears the name of actress and director Simone Berriau, who presented the complete dramatic work of Jean-Paul Sartre here beginning in 1943. For instance the first production of his 1951 The Devil and the Good Lord opened here, directed by Louis Jouvet. On her death in 1984 her daughter Helena Bossis took charge; since the death of Bossis in 2008, her husband Daniel Dares has served as director.

Premieres

Théâtre des Menus-Plaisirs

1867: Geneviève de Brabant (revised version) by Jacques Offenbach
1883: Les pommes d'or by Edmond Audran
1887: La fiancée des Verts-Poteaux by Audran
1891: L'oncle Célestin by Audran
1892: Article de Paris by Audran

References

^ Foreign Affairs, The New York Times, 31 March 1878.
^ Anne I. Miller, The Independent Theatre in Europe, 1887 to the Present, page 40.

External links

Official website

[1] Foreign Affairs, The New York Times, 31 March 1878.

[2] Anne I. Miller, The Independent Theatre in Europe, 1887 to the Present, page 40.

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