Théâtre des Délassements – Comiques

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View of the northern Boulevard du Temple with its theaters

The Théâtre des Délassements – Comiques was a small Parisian theater that existed from 1785 to 1890 , was located on the Boulevard du Temple and later changed its venues a few times.

history

In 1768, the comedian Beauvisage opened the theater at 60 Boulevard du Temple under the name Théâtre des Associés . In addition to comedies and dramas, exhibitions were also held. The house was then taken over by the comedian Louis Sallé, who gave the establishment the name Théâtre patriotique du sieur Sallé . The actor Lécluse, who was the new owner, then named the theater Théâtre des Variétés-Amusantes , but had no luck and sold the theater and, a little further, the Théâtre des Jeunes-Artistes .

The name Théâtre des Délassements-Comiques was first used in 1785 by the actor Dorfeuille and his manager Plancher-Valcour , a provincial actor . The next two years were marked by success until the house burned down in 1787. In order to finance a new building, Lieutenant Lenoir became a partner and the hall was rebuilt against resistance from the neighborhood. The program mainly consisted of numbers with three pantomimes, which played behind a gauze curtain, as a shadow theater. On July 14, 1789, the day of the storm on the Bastille , Valcour stormed the stage, tore down the gauze curtain and shouted vive la liberté ( long live freedom). The program changed drastically due to the new political situation and the new freedoms. In addition to pieces by Valcour, Antoine Fabre d'Olivet was also performed . The plays not only glorified the revolution, but also criticized the government.

Remarkably, all types of performances were now permitted in the theaters. Valcour used this to stand out from the now very strong competition and, for example, invited a physicist to demonstrate experiments on stage. But that did not help him much and he had to vacate his post in 1792 and the actor Colon took over the management. Until 1795, when the actor Prévôt briefly ran the house under the name Théâtre sans prétention . His successor was not much luckier , but was able to hold out for four years until the theater was taken over in 1800 by the director of the Théâtre des jeunes Éleves , Belfort, who reopened under the old name. He relied on the tried and tested and included comedies, dramas, vaudevilles and operas in the program. In addition, the stage was used for the acting lessons of the child actors, which were given by the actor Dorfeuille . In 1805 Belfort retired. The new director, Anciet Lapôtre, had the hall renovated and put together a new ensemble and was able to work there successfully until 1807, when almost all theaters were closed by imperial decree .

A café called Apollon opened its doors there. In 1815 the well-known tightrope walker Madame Saqui was given permission to open a hall for acrobatic performances, pantomimes and harlequinades. This happened under the name Théâtre Saqui . From the beginning there was strong competition from the Théâtre des Funambules , which had the same program orientation. The attempt to work together in 1823 also lasted only nine months. In 1830 Madamme Saqui successfully fought against the rigid regulations for small theaters and won. She could now have designed her program freely, but sold it and, under the new owner, vaudevilles and dramas were given. From then on, he called the theater Théâtre du Temple , then after himself, Théâtre Dorsay . In 1841, the old theater was demolished, rebuilt a few meters away at number 52 within three months and reopened as the Théâtre des Délassements-Comiques. In 1850, the actor Émile Taigny took over the theater, which had been run down by his predecessor, and took over the management, which he successfully held until the end.

The building was used there as a theater until 1862, when the town was redeveloped under Georges-Eugène Haussmann , but then, like the entire row of houses, was demolished. The ensemble found a new domicile on Rue de Provence. Another move to the Boulevard du Prince-Eugéne took place in 1865. Only a short time later, the name was changed to Théâtre du Prince-Eugéne , but this was reversed the following year. At the time of the Paris Commune , the Communards started the street fighting and the theater burned down. A new theater was looked for again and found two years later on Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Martin. It was the house in which the Théâtre des Nouveautés previously played. It was played there until the end in 1878.

Another Théâtre des Délassements – Comiques existed between 1886 and 1890, but nothing further is known about it.

Names such as Ernest Blum , Édouard Montagne , Eugène Grangé , Paul Féval , Edouard-Louis-Alexandre Brisebarre , Alexandre Flan and many others are associated with the Théâtre des Délassements-Comiques , whose pieces premiered there.

literature

  • Municipal Gazette: Les Délassements – Comiques, edition of September 20, 1857, p. 90, digitized
  • Jacque-Auguste Kaufmann: Architectonographie des théâtres, 1840, p. 239, digitized
  • Henri Beaulieu: Les théâtres du boulevard du Crime, 1905, S58 ff., Digitized
  • Louis-Henry Lecomte : Histoire des théâtres de Paris, 1402–1904 , 1905, p. 23 ff. Digitized

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ La Revue-programme , edition August 28, 1864, p. 4, digitalized , accessed on March 7, 2019
  2. ↑ La Semaine musicale , edition October 19, 1865, p. 3, digitalized , accessed on March 7, 2019
  3. ↑ La Justice , edition February 7, 1882, p. 3, digitized , accessed March 7, 2019
  4. ↑ La ville lumière , 1909, p. 547, digitized , accessed on March 7, 2019