Théâtre de Babylone

The Théâtre de Babylone was a French private theater in Paris that became famous in the early 1950s for performances of plays from the theater of the absurd . The small auditorium was located in a building in the 7th arrondissement at 38 Boulevard Raspail .

The theater was managed by a cooperative of actors, dramaturges , directors and other cultural workers under the direction of Jean-Marie Serreau. The board of directors included the Swiss actress Eléonore Hirt , the composer Maurice Jarre and Max Barrault, the brother of the famous actor Jean-Louis Barrault . On May 22, 1952, the Babylone opened its theater with an evening of theater based on plays by Luigi Pirandello , in addition to Eléonore Hirte, her then-husband Michel Piccoli also appeared in it. On January 3, 1953, the Babylone wrote theater history: Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett had its premiere after other theaters had previously rejected the play. The production was done by Roger Blin , who also took on the role of Pozzo; Jean Martin played Lucky . The production was a huge hit with critics and audiences and was also performed the following season. In the same year, the later famous French theater star Laurent Terzieff made his debut at the age of 18 in the play All against all ( Tous contre tous ) by Arthur Adamov . In 1954, pieces by Roland Dubillard and Eugène Ionesco were performed. In September, the Théâtre de Babylone had to close due to financial difficulties.

Web links

• About the Théàtre de Babylone and the Waiting for Godot Premiere (French) , accessed July 7, 2010
• Waiting for Godot premiere photo , accessed July 7, 2010