The Théâtre des Célestins is a theatre building on Place des Célestins in Lyon, France. It was designed by Gaspard André, and inaugurated in 1877, then in 2005. Alongside the Comédie-Française and the théâtre de l'Odéon, it is one of few theatres with over 200 years' continual usage in France. It is now a municipal theatre directly run by the City of Lyon. It has a contemporary and classical repertoire as well as producing new work.Base de données des lieux de diffusion culturelle en Rhône-Alpes
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History

The theatre and the square on which it stands are named after a convent and church of the Celestine order, which occupied the site between 1407 and 1789. It was founded on the banks of the Saône on land seized from the Templars by Amedee VIII of Savoy and given to the order. The order used the land until 1779. A 'Société des Célestins' then a 'Compagnie des Célestins' were formed in 1789 for "the establishment of a garden at the centre of the former Celestine lands, the construction of 17 houses around the garden, the distribution and repair of the cloister building to form 7 private houses, in one of which shall be built a theatre". The first theatre building was inaugurated on 9 April 1792.

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

attended a show at the theatre during the

Consulte de Lyon The Consulte de Lyon (consulta of Lyon) or consulte de la république cisalpine (consulta of the Cisalpine Republic) was an extraordinary meeting in the former chapel of the Jesuit college of the Trinity in Lyon during the French Consulate. It wa ...

in 1802. The first building later became too small and fell into disrepair before being completely destroyed in a fire in 1871. A competition was held to design a new one, which was won by Gaspard André - it was inaugurated on 1 August 1877 but damaged by fire on the night of 25–26 May 1880, with André called in to repair it. Le théâtre des Célestins en travaux

Several notable actors such as

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camel ...

and

Jean Marais Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (11 December 1913 – 8 November 1998), known professionally as Jean Marais (), was a French actor, film director, theatre director, painter, sculptor, visual artist, writer and photographer. He performed in over 100 f ...

have acted at the theatre. For 35 years Charles Moncharmont was its artistic director, during which time it hosted

Cécile Sorel Céline Émilie Seurre (7 September 1873 in Paris – 3 September 1966 in Trouville-sur-Mer), known as Cécile Sorel or the Comtesse de Ségur by marriage, was a French comic actress. She enjoyed great popularity and was known for her extravagant ...

Jules Berry Jules Berry (born Marie Louis Jules Paufichet; 9 February 1883 – 23 April 1951) was a French actor. Biography Early life Berry and his two brothers were born to parents who sold hardware and settled in Poitou. The family moved to Paris in 18 ...

, Ludmilla and Georges Pitoeff,

Louis Jouvet Jules Eugène Louis Jouvet (24 December 1887 – 16 August 1951) was a French actor, theatre director and filmmaker. Early life Jouvet was born in Crozon. He had a stutter as a young man and originally trained as a pharmacist. He receive ...

, Charles Dullin,

Elvire Popesco Elvira Popescu (; in French, Elvire Popesco; 10 May 1894 – 11 December 1993) was a Romanian-French stage and film actress and theatre director. During the 1930s and 1940s, she starred in a number of French comedy films. Life and career ...

Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French actor, Lucien Guitry, and follow ...

Madeleine Renaud Lucie Madeleine Renaud (; 21 February 1900 – 23 September 1994) was a French actress best remembered for her work in the theatre. She did though appear in several films directed by Jean Grémillon including ''Remorques'' (''Stormy Waters'' ...

, Pierre Dux, Jean Weber and Fernandel, as well as music-hall stars such as

Joséphine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

, Mistinguett and

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...

Charles Gantillon Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

succeeded Moncharmont in 1941, inviting Jean Cocteau,

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 ...

, Armand Gatti,

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

and

Bertolt 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 pl ...

. He also gave Jorge Lavelli, Patrice Chéreau, Edmond Tamiz and

Marcel Maréchal Marcel Maréchal (25 December 1937 – 11 June 2020) was a French actor, writer, and director. Biography Since 1958, Maréchal had a successful acting career. That year, he founded the Théâtre du Cothurne in Lyon. Other theatres he worked at ...

their first chances. On 26 January 1968

Albert Husson Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

and Jean Meyer were made joint artistic directors. On Huson's death in 1978, Meyer took over alone. He was succeeded in 1985 by Jean-Paul Lucet (who had acted alongside Meyer's favourite actress, Claude Jade, who had appeared in five plays at the theatre for him between 1975 and 1984). Claudia Stavisky became sole artistic director in 2000, until she was joined by Patrick Penot in 2002 then Marc Lesage in 2014. A major rebuild occurred between 2002 and 2005, creating a second auditorium, the Célestine, with capacity for 130 people.

References

External links

Official site of the Théâtre des Célestins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theatre des Celestins 2nd arrondissement of Lyon Theatres in Lyon