Cafe theater

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The Café de la Gare, one of the most traditional café theaters in Paris

The café theater is a form of cabaret where theater is played in a coffee house . It was created under the name of café-théâtre in Paris in the 1960s.

history

Who founded the café theater is controversial. In 1966, the playwright Bernard Da Costa arranged for a performance of his play Trio pour deux canaris at the Parisian landlord Michel Guiton , which is commonly seen as the founding date of the café theater. Alternatively, the café theater can be seen as a parallel occurring phenomenon in Paris in the 1960s. The theater form of the café theater is attested to in New York as early as 1958 , when the coffee house owner Joe Cino in Greenwich Village allowed young actors to play theater in front of his guests - which, however, is mostly considered a pioneering act of off-off Broadway theater, not of café theater .

Up until 1970 there were around a dozen café theaters in Paris with high fluctuation, after which there were significantly more. Many coffee house owners discovered the café theater as an attraction for their guests and the initially low entry prices have now also increased. Initially unknown authors were played, but now works by recognized authors such as Beckett , Ionesco and Arrabal were used . However, the café theater never had an avant-garde image, entertainment was the focus. From 1971, one-man shows became characteristic of the form of theater - and above all one-woman shows, with women shaping the café theater from the beginning.

In the late 1970s, the Parisian café theater institutionalized, which was also associated with crises. There were efforts on the part of the state to integrate the café theater into the existing theater system. In terms of tax law, it should no longer be regarded as a “bar with a theater” but as a “theater with a bar”, which means that taxation would no longer have been limited to drinks only.

Today the café-théâtre in Paris is an institution and a springboard for young actors.

The Parisian café theater soon found imitators in other cities. In Vienna , Hilde Berger , Götz Fritsch and Dieter Haspel founded a café theater ensemble , which from 1968 played on Café Einfalt.

shape

Small stages and proximity to the audience are typical of café theaters. The Parisian café theaters have an average of 50 to 100 seats. Only a few have more than 300 seats. These include the Café de la Gare and Le Splendid, which are among the most famous Parisian café theaters.

The French café concerts go back to the 19th century. In contrast to the café theater , the focus is not on the drama , but on chanson and cabaret performances. Other forms of theater related to café theaters include the basement theater , the music hall and the singspielhalle .

literature