![Boulevard du Temple by Daguerre](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Boulevard_du_Temple_by_Daguerre.jpg)
Boulevard theatre is a theatrical aesthetic that emerged from the boulevards of Paris' old city.
[Brunet, Brigitte]
"Le Théâtre de Boulevard".
''French Studies'' 59: 417–418, July 2005
Origin
Starting from the second half of the 18th century, popular and bourgeois theatre alike took up residence on the
boulevard du Temple
The Boulevard du Temple, formerly nicknamed the "Boulevard du Crime", is a thoroughfare in Paris that separates the 3rd arrondissement from the 11th. It runs from the Place de la République to the Place Pasdeloup, and its name refers to the ne ...
, then nicknamed '
boulevard du Crime
The Boulevard du Crime was the nickname given in the 19th century to the Boulevard du Temple in Paris because of the many crime melodramas that were shown every night in its many theaters. It is notorious in French history for having lost so many ...
' due to the many
melodrama
A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...
s and murder stories shown there. In addition to the many attractions on display there –
fireworks
Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...
,
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
, acrobats, etc. – a so-called 'boulevard' repertoire emerged separate from upper-class theatre. Then, starting from the
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Empire, Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the French Second Republic, Second and the French Third Republic ...
,
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
theatre and
comédie d'intrigue arrived on the scene.
Style
Boulevard theatre consists mostly of comedies but also dramas. In general, the characters are simply drawn, ordinary or easily understandable. There is a strong tendency to avoid touchy subjects, such as politics and religion. The style is not designed to challenge preconceived ideas or offend. Examples include such sex comedies as ''
La Cage aux Folles'' and ''
Boeing Boeing''.
Feydeau
Georges Feydeau
Georges-Léon-Jules-Marie Feydeau (; 8 December 1862 – 5 June 1921) was a French playwright of the era known as the Belle Époque. He is remembered for his farces, written between 1886 and 1914.
Feydeau was born in Paris to middle-class parent ...
, most active between 1890 and 1920, often produced up to the 21st century, is a boulevard theatre playwright whose satiric plays often take aim at adulterers and libertines in a manner not generally seen in British theatre of the same era.
List of playwrights
*
Marcel Achard
Marcel Achard (5 July 1899 – 4 September 1974) was a French playwright and screenwriter whose popular sentimental comedies Garzanti p. 3 maintained his position as a highly recognizable name in his country's theatrical and literary circles ...
*
Jean Anouilh
Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ''Antigone'', an ad ...
*
Émile Augier
Guillaume Victor Émile Augier (; 17 September 182025 October 1889) was a French dramatist. He was the thirteenth member to occupy seat 1 of the Académie française on 31 March 1857.
Biography
Augier was born at Valence, Drôme
Valence (, ...
*
Marcel Aymé
Marcel Aymé (29 March 1902 – 14 October 1967) was a French novelist and playwright, who also wrote screenplays and works for children.
Biography
Marcel André Aymé was born in Joigny, in the Burgundy region of France, the youngest of si ...
*
Pierre Barillet
Pierre Barillet (24 August 1923 – 8 January 2019) was a French playwright.
Biography
Barillet was born in Paris, France. Passionate about theatre since childhood, he wrote his first play, ''Les Héritiers'', in 1945 after being a law student. ...
*
Henry Bataille
Félix-Henri "Henry" Bataille (4 April 1872, in Nîmes – 2 March 1922, in Rueil-Malmaison) was a French dramatist and poet. His works were popular between 1900 and the start of World War I.
Bataille's parents died when he was young. He attend ...
*
Henry Becque
Henry François Becque (9 April 1837 – 12 May 1899), was a French dramatist. He was born in Paris.
Life
In 1867, he wrote, in imitation of Lord Byron, the libretto for Victorin de Joncières's opera ''Sardanapale'', but his first important wor ...
*
Tristan Bernard
Tristan Bernard (7 September 1866 – 7 December 1947) was a French playwright, novelist, journalist and lawyer.
Life
He studied law, and after his military service, he started his career as the manager of an aluminium smelter. In the 1890s, ...
*
Henri Bernstein
Henri-Léon-Gustave-Charles Bernstein (20 June 1876 – 27 November 1953) was a French playwright associated with Boulevard theatre.
Biography
Bernstein was born in Paris. His earliest plays, including ''La Rafale'' (1905), ''Le Voleur'' (1907), ...
*
Paul Bilhaud
Paul Bilhaud (31 December 1854 – 8 January 1933) was a French playwright and librettist. An old friend of the author Alphonse Allais, he is remembered along his friend as a forerunner of minimalism with his painting ''Combat de nègres pendan ...
*
Alexandre Bisson
Alexandre Bisson (9 April 1848 – 27 January 1912) was a French playwright, vaudeville creator, and novelist. Born in Briouze, Orne in Lower Normandy, he was successful in his native France as well as in the United States. Remembered as a signi ...
*
Henri-Frédéric Blanc
*
Édouard Bourdet
Édouard Bourdet ( Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 26 October 1887 – Paris, 17 January 1945) was a 20th-century French playwright.
He was married to the poet, Catherine Pozzi; their son was Claude Bourdet.
Plays
*1910: ''Le Rubicon''
*1912: ''La Cage o ...
*
Alexandre Breffort
Alexandre Breffort (1901–1971) was a French screenwriter.
Selected filmography
* '' Follow That Man'' (1953)
1901 births
1971 deaths
French male screenwriters
20th-century French screenwriters
20th-century French male writers
{ ...
*
Marc Camoletti
*
Isabelle Candelier
Isabelle Candelier (born 12 June 1963) is a French film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ...
*
Alfred Capus
Alfred Capus (25 November 18581 November 1922) was a French journalist and playwright, who was born in Aix-en-Provence and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine.
Biography
Son of a lawyer from Marseille, Alfred Capus went to university in Toulon. After fail ...
*
Gaston Arman de Caillavet
Gaston Arman de Caillavet (13 March 1869 – 13 January 1915) was a French playwright.
Early life
Gaston Arman de Caillavet was born on 13 March 1869. He was the son of Albert Arman de Caillavet and Léontine Lippmann. His maternal grandfa ...
*
Henri Chivot
Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry.
People with this given name
; French noblemen
:'' See the ' List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.''
* Henri I de Mont ...
*
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...
*
Georges Courteline
Georges Courteline born Georges Victor Marcel Moinaux (25 June 1858 – 25 June 1929) was a French dramatist and novelist, a satirist notable for his sharp wit and cynical humor.
Biography
His family moved from Tours in Indre-et-Loire to Pari ...
*
Henry de Gorsse
*
Lucien Descaves
Lucien Descaves (16 March 1861– 6 September 1949) was a French novelist.
Selected works
* ''Le Calvaire de Héloïse Pajadou'' (1883) 'Héloïse Pajadou's Calvary.'' Sunny Lou Publishing , 2021 Further reading
*
*
External links
*
...
*
Jacques Deval
Jacques Deval (1895–1972) was a French playwright, screenwriter and film director.
Novels
*''Marie Galante'' (1931)
Plays
*''Une faible femme''; a comedy in three acts (1920)
*''Dans sa candeur naïve''; a comedy in three acts (1926); translate ...
*
Maurice Donnay
Charles Maurice Donnay (12 October 1859 – 31 March 1945) was a French dramatist.
Biography
Donnay was born of middle-class parents in Paris in 1859. His father was a railway engineer and initially Donnay followed a similar profession, st ...
*
Françoise Dorin
Françoise Dorin (23 January 1928 – 12 January 2018) was a French actor, comedian, novelist, playwright and songwriter. She was most successful in the 1970s, authored about 30 plays and more than 25 books as well as writing songs for various arti ...
*
Alexandre Dumas, fils
Alexandre Dumas (; 27 July 1824 – 27 November 1895) was a French author and playwright, best known for the romantic novel ''La Dame aux Camélias'' (''The Lady of the Camellias''), published in 1848, which was adapted into Giuseppe Verdi's 1 ...
*
Georges Feydeau
Georges-Léon-Jules-Marie Feydeau (; 8 December 1862 – 5 June 1921) was a French playwright of the era known as the Belle Époque. He is remembered for his farces, written between 1886 and 1914.
Feydeau was born in Paris to middle-class parent ...
*
Robert de Flers
Robert Pellevé de La Motte-Ango, marquis de Flers (25 November 1872, Pont-l'Évêque, Calvados – 30 July 1927, Vittel) was a French playwright, opera librettist, and journalist.Pierre Barillet, ''Les Seigneurs du rire: Flers – Caillavet – ...
*
Edmond Gondinet
Edmond Gondinet (7 March 1828 – 19 November 1888) was a French playwright and librettist. This author, nearly forgotten today, produced forty plays of which several were successful. He collaborated with Alphonse Daudet and Eugène Labiche, ...
*
Jean-Pierre Gredy
Jean-Pierre Grédy, often anglicised as Gredy (16 August 1920 – 6 February 2022) was a French playwright.
Biography
After studying literature and law, Grédy entered IDHEC because he wanted to write screenplays.
He wrote the screenplay for ...
*
Roger Ferdinand
*
Sacha Guitry
*
Thomas-Simon Gueullette
*
Maurice Hennequin
Maurice Hennequin (10 December 1863 – 3 September 1926) was a French-naturalized Belgian playwright.
Biography
A great-grandson of the painter Philippe-Auguste Hennequin, Maurice Hennequin was the son of Alfred Hennequin (1842–1887), him ...
*
Albert Husson
*
Eugène Labiche
Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".Henri Lavedan
Henri Léon Emile Lavedan (9 April 1859 – 4 September 1940), French dramatist and man of letters, was born at Orléans, the son of , a well-known Catholic and liberal journalist.
Lavedan contributed to various Parisian papers a series of witt ...
*
Julien Luchaire
Julien may refer to:
People
* Julien (given name)
* Julien (surname)
Music
* ''Julien'' (opera), a 1913 poème lyrique by Gustave Charpentier
* ''Julien'' (album), by Dalida, 1973
* "Julien" (song), by Carly Rae Jepsen, 2019
Places Un ...
*
*
Félicien Marceau
Félicien Marceau (16 September 1913 – 7 March 2012) was a French novelist, playwright and essayist originally from Belgium. His real name was Louis Carette. He was close to the Hussards right-wing literary movement, which in turn was close t ...
*
Georges Mitchell
*
Marcel Mithois
Marcel may refer to:
People
* Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel
* Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder
* Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian s ...
*
Maurice Ordonneau
Maurice Ordonneau (18 June 1854 – 14 November 1916) was a French dramatist and composer. The son of a merchant of eau de vie, Ordonneau was a prolific author in creating theatrical works. He composed, often with the collaboration of other playwr ...
*
Marcel Pagnol
Marcel Paul Pagnol (; 28 February 1895 – 18 April 1974) was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Regarded as an auteur, in 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the Académie française. Although his work is less fashionable ...
*
René Charles Guilbert de Pixérécourt
René ('' born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus.
René is the masculine form of the name ( Renée being the femin ...
*
Jean Poiret
*
Georges de Porto-Riche
Georges de Porto-Riche (20 May 1849, Bordeaux, Gironde – 5 September 1930, Paris) was a French dramatist and novelist.
Biography
Georges was born into a Jewish-Italian assimilated family.
At the age of twenty, his pieces in verse began to b ...
*
Claude-André Puget
Claude-André Puget (22 June 1905, in Nice – 14 August 1975) was a 20th-century French playwright and screenwriter.
Theatre Plays
*1932: ''La Ligne de cœur''
*1933: ''Valentin le Désossé''
*1937: ''Tourterelle''
*1938: ''Les Jours heureux ...
*
Jules Romain
*
Edmond Rostand
Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with t ...
*
André Roussin
*
Armand Salacrou
Armand Camille Salacrou (9 August 1899 – 23 November 1989) was a French dramatist.
Biography
He was born in Rouen, but spent most of his childhood at Le Havre, and moved to Paris in 1917. His first works show the influence of the Surrealis ...
*
Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 18318 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-centur ...
*
Jean Sarment
*
Eugène Scribe
Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of ma ...
*
Robert Thomas
*
Albin Valabrègue
*
Francis Veber
Francis Paul Veber (born 28 July 1937) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer, and playwright. He has written and directed both French and American films. Nine French-language films with which he has been involved, as either writ ...
*
Pierre Veber
Pierre-Eugène Veber (15 May 1869 – 20 August 1942) was a French playwright and writer.
Biography
Pierre Veber was the brother of the painter Jean Veber, and the brother-in-law of both René Doumic and Tristan Bernard. His family was quite l ...
*
Louis Verneuil
Louis Jacques Marie Collin du Bocage (14 May 1893 – 3 November 1952), better known by the pen name Louis Verneuil, was a French playwright, screenwriter, and actor.
Biography
Born in Paris, Verneuil wrote approximately sixty plays and was be ...
*
Pierre Wolff
Pierre Wolff (1 January 1865, in Paris – 1944) was a French playwright.
Biography
Pierre Wolff was a Jewish writer, who wrote numerous plays, as well as some libretti for operettas. He was the nephew of journalist Albert Wolff. His dramas wer ...
*
Maurice Yvain
Maurice Yvain (12 February 1891 – 27 July 1965) was a French composer noted for his operettas of the 1920s and 1930s. Some of which were written for Mistinguett, at one time the best-paid female entertainer in the world. In the 1930s and 1940s, ...
References
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Theatrical genres
Theatre in Paris
Culture of Paris
History of Paris