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The Théâtre Libre (; "Free Theatre") was a
theatre company 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 ...
that operated from 1887 to 1896 in
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 ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.


Origins and History

Théâtre Libre was founded on 30 March 1887 by André Antoine. The primary goal of the theatre was to present new plays that were untried and unproduced by the commercial houses. Antoine was driven to open his own theatre company to create a dramatization of an
Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...
novel, '' Thérèse Raquin'', after the theater group for which he previously worked had refused. In order to ensure that the Théâtre Libre was exempt from
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...
and could produce plays that other theaters would not, the theatre was supported solely by subscribers. This allowed the Théâtre Libre to collect no money at the door meaning it was not legally considered a theatre. Being a "free" theatre, in the case of Théâtre Libre, meant being a theatre that presented naturalism and was dedicated to producing plays in any and all genres that had not been produced before and often were considered too much of a risk to stage.
Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for Audience, theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the ...
s and
poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...
s were created by leading artists of the day with an un-glamorized, gritty realism that reflected the spirit of the theatre and its repertoire. Among the artists that produced the most memorable works for its plays were
Henri-Gabriel Ibels Henri-Gabriel Ibels (1867–1936) was a French illustrator, printmaker, painter and author. Biography He was born in Paris and studied at the Académie Julian along with artists such as Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard. At the beginning of ...
,
Édouard Vuillard Jean-Édouard Vuillard (; 11 November 186821 June 1940) was a French painter, decorative artist, and printmaker. From 1891 through 1900, Vuillard was a member of the avant garde artistic group Les Nabis, creating paintings that assembled areas ...
, Paul Signac, George Auriol,
Adolphe Willette Adolphe Léon Willette (30 July 1857 – 4 February 1926) was a French Painting, painter, illustrator, caricaturist, and lithographer, as well as an architect of the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret. Willette ran as an "antisemitism, anti-semitic" c ...
, and
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Count, ''Comte'' Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901), known as Toulouse-Lautrec (), was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist, and illustrator whose immersion in the colour ...
.There are three chapters of the Théâtre Libre's life. This first is its opening with the first two programs in the spring of 1887 and the full season that followed. Antoine quit his job at the gas company to pursue establishing the Théâtre Libre full-time. The second is from October 1888 to June 1893. During this time, the Théâtre Libre established itself as a prominent theatre company whose subscriptions were robust, produced many plays to general critical acclaim, and was sought out to produce new work. It was during these years that the Théâtre Libre saw some of its work transferring to prominent commercial theatres in Paris such as the Odéon and the
Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...
. The theatre's final chapter is marked from November 1893 to its close in 1896. During this time it was evident that the experimental days of the theatre had passed as the style and works produced by the Théâtre Libre were now commercially acceptable and sought after. Due to the amount of debt acquired both on behalf of the theatre and personally, Antoine turned the Théâtre Libre over to Larochelle, a son of an older director/actor who had been eager to join management, for the final two years of the theatre's operation. The last performance at Théâtre Libre was on April 27, 1896. The theatre presented more than 111 plays by more than 50 playwrights during its existence. Each production produced at Théâtre Libre was only given three performances: one dress rehearsal, one opening night performance for invited guests, and one performance for subscribers. However, despite its achievements, the theater had major financial problems. The deep debt coupled with the idea that the Théâtre Libre was no longer needed, as it had proved that a new form of theatre could be acceptable and commercial was being produced, the theatre failed and closed its doors.


Notable Works/Controversial Productions

The theater concerned itself with producing work that was considered too risky to stage by more well-known theaters, sometimes even works that had been banned in Europe, such as
Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...
's ''Ghosts.'' The theater performed one foreign work per year and it staged only three performances of any production, either a foreign or domestic work. * ''Jacques Damour'' by
Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...
(adapted for stage by Léon Hennique) ** The play, focusing on a man fighting against his evil instincts, was well-received by critics. * ''The Death of the Duke of Engheim'' by Léon Hennique ** This production marked the rebirth of the historical play, but approached the history in a realistic way, a precursor to documentary theater. * ''The Kiss'' by
Théodore de Banville Théodore Faullain de Banville (; 14 March 1823 – 13 March 1891) was a French poet and writer. His work was influential on the Symbolist movement in French literature in the late 19th century. Biography Banville was born in Moulins in Allier ...
** This production one of Théâtre Libre's biggest successes critically. The fairy tale was received to standing ovations and very enthusiastic reviews. * ''Tabarian's Wife'' by Catulle Mendès ** Another instant success for Théâtre Libre. The show transferred to the
Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...
. * ''Lucie Pellegrin's End'' by Paul Alexis ** Critics condemned this play and its production stating that the scandalous, realistic portrayal of a homosexual relationship onstage was offensive. * ''Christ's Lover'' by Rodolphe Darzens ** This mystery play depicting Christ and Mary Magdalene's love affair was deemed sacrilegious and offensive. * ''The Power of Darkness'' by
Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...
** While other thought this play too melancholy for French audiences, Antoine embraced the Russian story. * ''Ghosts'' by Henrik Ibsen ** While the play had been censored in Norway, Germany, and England due to its taboo subjects such as incest and euthanasia, Antoine produced it to mixed reviews of both critics and friends alike. * ''Miss Julie'' by
August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...
** Banned in Denmark


Influence

The Théâtre Libre combined Realism with Naturalism, and emphasized ensemble acting. André Antoine, its primary director, became known as the father of Naturalistic Staging. He sought to make every play as real as possible, such as when real beef carcasses were used on stage. Many sets were erected with four standing walls for rehearsals, then Antoine would decide which wall to remove for the audience to see when plays began their run. He also replaced footlights with more naturalistic lighting. Antoine believed each play should have its own unique environment. The Théâtre Libre was the first of its kind and inspired the opening many theatres, including the Freie Bühne, (Free Stage), in Berlin that opened in 1889 as well as the Independent Theatre Society in London that opened in 1891. Out of these two theatres grew Freie Volksbühne, (Free People's Stage), and the
Stage Society The Incorporated Stage Society, commonly known as the Stage Society, was an English theatre society with limited membership which mounted private Sunday performances of new and experimental plays, mainly at the Royal Court Theatre (whose John Eugen ...
in 1899 and the Abbey Theatre at Dublin in 1901. The influence in staging in realism and naturalism can of the Théâtre Libre can be seen in the
Moscow Art Theatre The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; , ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was founded in by the seminal Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski, together with the playwright ...
which was founded in 1898 by Constantine Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchecko and still operates today.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Libre, Theatre 19th-century theatre Theatre companies in France