Capacity 530 Phone +33 1 46 07 34 50 | Opened 1876 | |
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Address 37 bis Boulevard de la Chapelle, 75010 Paris, France Similar Théâtre des Bouffes‑Parisiens, Théâtre du Rond‑Point, Théâtre de la Ville, Théâtre national de la Colline, Odéon‑Théâtre de l'Europe Profiles | ||
The Bouffes du Nord is a theater at 37 bis, boulevard de la Chapelle in the 10th arrondissement of Paris located near the Gare du Nord. It is registered as a historic monument.
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History
Founded in 1876, it had an erratic existence and seemed that it would never get off the ground. In its first decade it had no fewer than fifteen artistic directors, the most notorious being Olga Léaud who fled the theater after her production had failed, taking the contents of the theater safe with her.
The theater's fortunes were revived briefly in 1885 by the arrival of Abel Ballet as the director. In 1896 Abel Ballet left the direction of Bouffes North. The two actors Emmanuel Clot and G. Dublay succeeded him. In 1904 the theater, under the direction of its directors, was entirely restored, repainted, and equipped with electricity. The theatre was renamed the Théâtre Molière and authors such as Arthur Bernède and Gaston Leroux were assembled to write plays for the newly named theater. In August 1914 the Théâtre Molière, like other theatres, closed its doors. Until 1974 the theater was inhabited by a number of theater companies, none of which were able to afford the repairs and maintenance needed for it to conform with security regulations.
Peter Brook
British director Peter Brook together with the French producer Micheline Rozan took over the theater in 1974 as the home for the theatre company they co-founded, the International Centre for Theatre Research. Although the theatre was renovated, it was not redecorated. This gave the interior an unusual and memorable distressed look that may be seen in the opening scene of Jean-Jacques Beineix's 1981 film Diva, which was filmed there.
In 2008, Brook announced that he would slowly hand the reins over to Olivier Mantei, deputy head of the Paris opera company Opéra-Comique and head of the musical programming at the Bouffes du Nord, and Olivier Poubelle, a theatre entrepreneur specialising in modern music.
His farewell production was A Magic Flute.