The Théâtre de la Huchette is a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. This small theatre in Paris' Left Bank, located at 23 rue de la Huchette in the 5th arrondissement, is known for playing

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...

's absurdist double-bill of

The Lesson ''The Lesson'' (french: La Leçon) is a one-act play by French-Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco. It was first performed in 1951 in a production directed by Marcel Cuvelier (who also played the Professor). Since 1957 it has been in permanen ...

and

The Bald Soprano ''La Cantatrice chauve '' – translated from French as ''The Bald Soprano'' or ''The Bald Prima Donna'' – is the first play written by Romanian-French playwright Eugène Ionesco. Nicolas Bataille directed the premiere on 11 May 1950 at the ...

in permanent repertory since 1957, as "Spectacle Ionesco." Today, a third play is presented and this changes from time to time. Despite the theatre's tiny size of only 85 seats, a total of over one and a half million spectators have attended the show. The theatre's first ever production, by

Georges Vitaly Georges Vitaly, real name Vitali Garcouchenko, (15 January 1917 – 2 January 2007), was a 20th-century French actor, theater director and theater manager. The son of immigrants from the Russian revolution, he trained as actor from 1934. In 1947 ...

, was ''Albertina'' by

Valentino Bompiani Valentino Silvio Bompiani (27 September 1898 – 23 February 1992) was an Italian publisher, writer and playwright. Born in Ascoli Piceno (Marche), in 1929 he founded the publishing house carrying his name, which became one of the most imp ...

. The date was 26 April 1948. In 1951 he premièred

Georges Schehadé Georges may refer to: Places *Georges River, New South Wales, Australia *Georges Quay (Dublin) *Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses *Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 1977 ...

s first play ''Monsieur Bobl'le''. In 1952 Marcel Pinard took over as owner, and brought to the theatre the works of

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...

and

Jean Tardieu Jean Tardieu (born in Saint-Germain-de-Joux, Ain, 1 November 1903, died in Créteil, Val-de-Marne, 27 January 1995) was a French artist, musician, poet and dramatic author. Life and career He earned a degree in literature and worked for a publi ...

. The closest métro and RER stations are: Saint-Michel and

Saint-Michel – Notre-Dame Saint-Michel is the name or part of the name of many places. ''Michel'' is French language, French for ''Michael (given name), Michael'', and in most cases, these placenames refer to Michael (archangel). Places In Canada * Saint-Michel, Montreal ...

History

The theater was created in 1948 by

and had its first production on April 26, 1948, ''Albertina'' by

. The theater was a part of the explosion of creativity and culture following the end of the

occupation of Paris Paris started mobilizing for war in September 1939, when Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union attacked Poland, but the war seemed far away until May 10, 1940, when the Germans attacked France and quickly defeated the French army. The French governme ...

. The theater began showing Ionesco's

(''La Cantatrice chauve)'' followed directly by

on 16 February 1957. This was a revival of ''The Bald Soprano'' as the play on its own had been poorly received by critics and the public on its own, performed at Théàtre des Noctambules in 1950 before being stopped short after only 25 performances. As of February 2017 the two plays have been performed more than 18,000 times the theater, holding the record for longest running show without interruption at a single theater. In 1975 the owner, Marcel Pinard, suffered a fatal heart attack in the theater's box office. Following his death the actors who had played the Ionesco double bill since 1957 battled to prevent the closure of the theater, eventually forming their own theater company to continue production.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Theatre De La Huchette Huchette Buildings and structures in the 5th arrondissement of Paris