The Théâtre de la Huchette () is a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. 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#Avant-garde, French avant-garde th ...

's absurdist double-bill of ''

The Lesson ''The Lesson'' () 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 permanent showing at Pari ...

'' 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 th ...

'' 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 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. 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 1 ...

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 Th ...

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev ( ; rus, links=no, Иван Сергеевич ТургеневIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; – ) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poe ...

and Jean Tardieu. 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 for ''Michael'', and in most cases, these placenames refer to Michael (archangel). Places In Canada * Saint-Michel, Montreal, a neighbourhood in the Montreal boro ...

History

The theater was created in 1948 by

and had its first production on April 26, 1948, ''Albertina'' by Valentino Bompiani. The theater was a part of the explosion of creativity and culture following the end of the

occupation of Paris The city of 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 10th 1940, when the Germans attacked France and quickly defeated the French army. The ...

. 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 after only 25 performances. As of February 2017, the two plays have been performed more than 18,000 times at the theater, holding the record for longest running show without interruption at a single theater. In 1975, 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