''Cabaret du Néant'' (, "Cabaret of Nothingness"/"Cabaret of the Void") was a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

, Paris, founded in 1892. The ''Cabaret du Néant'' was an early pioneer of the modern

theme restaurant A theme restaurant is a type of restaurant that uses theming to attract diners by creating a memorable experience. Theme restaurants have a unifying or dominant subject or concept, and utilize architecture, decor, special effects, and other tech ...

and dealt with various aspects of mortality and death. The dark theme of the cabaret included magic tricks and illusions focusing on morbid subjects. The cabaret was first established in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, subsequently moved to Paris, and promoted performances in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

.Library Of Congress. The Journal, March 21, 1896
New York N.Y, 1895, Newspaper. Retrieved from the Library of Congress (Accessed December 03, 2017) The ''Cabaret du Néant'', along with the ''

Cabaret de L'Enfer ''Cabaret de l'Enfer'' (The Cabaret of Hell) was a famous cabaret in Montmartre, founded in November 1892 by Antonin Alexander and demolished in 1950 to allow for the expansion of a Monoprix supermarket. The ''Cabaret de L'Enfer'' was the counte ...

'' (Cabaret of Hell), and the ''

Cabaret du Ciel The ''Cabaret du Ciel'' (Cabaret of Heaven) was a well-known cabaret in the Montmartre district of Paris. The ''Cabaret du Ciel'' was an early version of modern theme restaurants, with a theme centered around celestial concepts connected to the ...

'' (Cabaret of Heaven), was part of a trio of themed restaurants established at around the same time in

History

The ''Cabaret du Néant'' was an early pioneer of the modern

; its theme was death. The original theme restaurant, called at the time "Cabaret philosophique", was first established in

in 1892, and soon after relocated to Boulevard Rochechouart in Paris under the name ''Cabaret de la Mort'' (The Cabaret of Death). In the 1890s, following the death of an area resident, the cabaret was renamed "''Cabaret du Néant''" because it was thought that "Néant" (nothingness) was less frightening to local residents. The cabaret was eventually moved to number 34,

Boulevard de Clichy The Boulevard de Clichy () is a famous street of Paris, which lends its name to the Place de Clichy, resulted from the fusion, in 1864, of the roads that paralleled the Wall of the Farmers-General, both inside and out. It extends from the Place ...

. At this address, the cabaret is listed under the category "Cabarets Artistiques" in the 1904 edition of ''

Baedeker Verlag Karl Baedeker, founded by Karl Baedeker on 1 July 1827, is a German publisher and pioneer in the business of worldwide travel guides. The guides, often referred to simply as "List of Baedeker Guides, Baedekers" (a term sometimes used to re ...

's Paris and Its Environs''. In 1896 the cabaret sponsored performances in

, at the Casino Chambers, Thirty-ninth Street and Broadway.

Theme

Inside the cabaret, the patrons were led by a monk through a dark hall to the drinking area, where the waiters were dressed as undertakers. Presenters would then show paintings of people who would transform into skeletons. The monk also led the patrons into another room, where a member of the audience was invited to participate in a magic trick, by entering a coffin. The volunteer was subsequently wrapped in a white shroud, and apparently transformed into a skeleton, and then back into human form. Once inside the drinking area, the customers were told to take "bières", a word meaning both a

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

and a coffin ("

bier A bier is a stand on which a corpse, coffin, or casket containing a corpse is placed to lie in state or to be carried to its final disposition.''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (American Heritage Publishing Co., In ...

") in French. In the "Salle d'Intoxication" (Intoxication Hall), which featured chandeliers made of human bones, customers drank alcoholic beverages served in cups shaped like human skulls, while sitting at coffin-shaped tables. The decor of the cabaret was redolent with skeletons and corpses.

Magic trick Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of close-up magic, parlor magic, and stage magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural me ...

s were performed in which patrons appeared to dissolve into skeletons and ghosts would enter the rooms of the cabaret. It was a place that provided entertainment for the patrons, while at the same time, the mock-gothic theme could also cause worry and distress. The ''Cabaret du Néant'' is credited with producing "one of the most original adaptations" of

Pepper's ghost Pepper's ghost is an Magic (illusion), illusion technique, used in theatre, Film, cinema, amusement parks, museums, television, and concerts, in which an image of an object offstage is projected so that it appears to be in front of the audience ...

. ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

'' called the New York performance of the Cabaret " most interesting performance based upon the principles of the well known 'Pepper's ghost'".

Illustrations by W. C. Morrow

The following are illustrations by

W. C. Morrow William Chambers Morrow (July 7, 1854 – April 3, 1923) was an American writer, now noted mainly for his short story, short stories of horror fiction, horror and suspense. He is probably best known for the much-anthologised story "His Unconquera ...

in his 1899 book ''Bohemian Paris of To-day''. File:Cabaret du Néant illustration by W. C. Morrow.png, ''Cabaret du Néant'' illustration by

File:Cabaret du Néant Waiter illustration by W. C. Morrow.png, ''Cabaret du Néant'' waiter illustration by W. C. Morrow File:Cabaret du Néant Death Chamber illustration by W. C. Morrow.png, ''Cabaret du Néant'' death chamber illustration by W. C. Morrow File:Cabaret du Néant Interior of Death Chamber illustration by W. C. Morrow.png, ''Cabaret du Néant'' interior of death chamber illustration by W. C. Morrow

Cultural Depictions

An interpretation of the ''Cabaret du Néant'' appears in poet

Mina Loy Mina Loy (born Mina Gertrude Löwy; 27 December 1882 – 25 September 1966) was a British-born artist, writer, poet, playwright, novelist, painter, designer of lamps, and bohemian. She was one of the last of the first-generation modernists to ...

's ''Three Moments in Paris.'' Although this sequence was published for the first time in three parts in the modernist journal ''Rogue'' in May 1915, the ''Café du Néant'' section appeared alone in ''International: A Review of Two Worlds'' in August 1914 - making it Loy's first published poem. The later version, which is the version most commonly circulated today, refers to the distinctive atmosphere akin to that of the ''Cabaret du Néant'' which was a venue in Paris in the early twentieth century when Loy was living in the city. Relying upon macabre images in a gothic setting Loy describes two lovers, meeting in 'the fulsome ambiente' of the ''Café du Néant,'' amidst burning 'tapers' and 'coffin tables'. In reference to the setting, which in turn is used to metaphorically reflect upon the relationship, Loy notes it is a 'factitious chamber of DEATH'.

History

Theme

Illustrations by W. C. Morrow

Cultural Depictions

References

Further reading