Roger Planchon (born 12 September 1931 in

Saint-Chamond, Loire Saint-Chamond () is a commune in the Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in central France. Situated 13 km northeast of the city of Saint-Étienne and 50 km southwest of Lyon, the town dates back to the Roman period. ...

, died on 12 May 2009 in

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. Si ...

), was a French

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, director, and

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

Biography

Roger Planchon spent his childhood in the

Ardèche Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Dornas Dornas is a commune in the Ardèche department in southern France. This town is located 6 miles from Le Cheylard, 25 miles from Aubenas, and 29 miles from Privas. Population See also *Communes of the Ardèche department The following is a ...

. He found its inspiration from his rural origins and this issue was a recurring theme in his writings. He started on stage in 1949 after winning an amateur theater. In 1952, he founded the Théâtre de la Comédie, located in the

rue des Marronniers The Rue des Marronniers is a street located in the Bellecour quarter, in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon. It is a small paved pedestrian street famous for its many bouchons. It is served by the metro station ''Bellecour'' and many buses. The str ...

, in Lyon. He was the director of the Théâtre de la Cité of

Villeurbanne Villeurbanne (; frp, Velorbana) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. It is situated northeast of Lyon, with which it forms the heart of the second-largest metropolitan area in France after ...

since 1957 (which became the

Théâtre National Populaire The Théâtre national populaire (French for ''People's National Theater'') is a theatre now at Villeurbanne, France. It was founded in 1920 by Firmin Gémier in Paris. Today, the TNP has a company of ten resident actors and the building is cur ...

in 1972). Roger Planchon transposed many works by

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, and many works of contemporary authors, including

Arthur Adamov Arthur Adamov (23 August 1908 – 15 March 1970) was a playwright, one of the foremost exponents of the Theatre of the Absurd. Early life Adamov (originally Adamian) was born in Kislovodsk in the Terek Oblast of the Russian Empire to a wealthy A ...

and

Michel Vinaver Michel Vinaver (born Michel Grinberg; 13 January 1927 – 1 May 2022) was a French writer and dramatist. He was born in Paris to parents who had emigrated from Russia. He was the manager of Gillette. He is the father of actress Anouk Grinberg ...

, but also opened the

Patrice Chéreau Patrice Chéreau (; 2 November 1944 – 7 October 2013) was a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer. In France he is best known for his work for the theatre, internationally for his films '' La Reine Margot'' and ...

, then Georges Lavaudant. As films, he directed '' George Dandin ou le Mari confondu'' by Molière, '' Louis, enfant roi'', which was entered at

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ...

, and another one by Lautrec.

End of life

In 2002, Christian Schiaretti succeeded him as director of the TNP; he created his own company with which he continued to write and direct until his death. He died on 12 May 2009 after a heart attack, he is buried in the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figure ...

(22nd division)."Décès du dramaturge et cinéaste Roger Planchon", ''Le Monde'', 12 May 200
Lemonde.fr
Retrieved May 25, 2009

Filmography

References

External links

- Daily Telegraph obituary 1931 births 2009 deaths People from Saint-Chamond French film directors French theatre directors Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery {{France-bio-stub