The Théâtre national populaire (French for ''People's National Theater'') is a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

now at

Villeurbanne Villeurbanne (; frp, Velorbana) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. It is situated northeast of Lyon, with which it forms the heart of the second-largest metropolitan area in France after ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It was founded in 1920 by Firmin Gémier in Paris. Today, the TNP has a company of ten resident actors and the building is currently being completely renovated.

History

The Théâtre National Populaire (TNP) was founded in 1920 in Paris at the

Palais de Chaillot The Palais de Chaillot () is a building at the top of the in the Trocadéro area in the 16th ''arrondissement'' of Paris, France. For the Exposition Internationale of 1937, the old 1878 Palais du Trocadéro was partly demolished and partly ...

by Firmin Gémier. During World War II, activity was suspended and the building was occupied by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

. In 1951,

Jean Vilar Jean Vilar (25 March 1912– 28 May 1971) was a French actor and theatre director. Vilar trained under actor and theatre director Charles Dullin, then toured with an acting company throughout France. His directorial career began in 1943 in a sma ...

was appointed head of the new theater by Jeanne Laurent. The theater reopened at

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,145 as of 2016. The nearest communes are Nanterre, Puteaux, Rueil-Malmaison, Saint-Cloud a ...

pending the return to the

. Vilar thought of the theater as a public service, and gave it a new image. Under his leadership the theater offered performances shown at prices and times to suit the general public. The TNP attracted a group of young actors including

Gérard Philipe Gérard Philipe (born Gérard Albert Philip, 4 December 1922 – 25 November 1959) was a prominent French actor who appeared in 32 films between 1944 and 1959. Active in both theatre and cinema, he was, until his early death, one of the main ...

. Productions from this time include ''

Le Cid ''Le Cid'' is a five-act French tragicomedy written by Pierre Corneille, first performed in December 1636 at the Théâtre du Marais in Paris and published the same year. It is based on Guillén de Castro's play ''Las Mocedades del Cid''. Castro ...

'' and '' Der Prinz von Homburg'' by

Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'', ''The Broken Jug'', ''Amph ...

. Vilar hired the young composer

Maurice Jarre Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) allmusic Biography/ref> was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations wit ...

as music director. Jarre scored 36 plays including the famous '' Lorenzaccio''. In 1963,

Georges Wilson Georges Wilson (16 October 1921 – 3 February 2010) was a French film and television actor. He was the father of French actor Lambert Wilson. Biography Wilson was born in Champigny-sur-Marne, Seine (now Val-de-Marne) as the illegitimat ...

succeeded Vilar and created a second room devoted to contemporary writers. In 1972 the French Minister of Cultural Affairs (Jacques Duhamel) decided to move the TNP to

, near Lyon. Specifically, to the Théâtre de la Cité, founded by Roger Planchon in 1957.

Patrice Chéreau Patrice Chéreau (; 2 November 1944 – 7 October 2013) was a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer. In France he is best known for his work for the theatre, internationally for his films '' La Reine Margot'' and ...

, Robert Gilbert and Roger Planchon took over leadership of the organization. In 1986, Georges Lavaudant replaced Patrice Chéreau and shared the leadership with Roger Planchon until 1996. Then in 2002, the current director, Christian Schiaretti left the Comedy of Reims to lead the TNP.Official history of the TNP

References

Morvan Lebesque Le Théâtre National Populaire in Le Point LII Mars 1957, Souillac (Lot), Mulhouse

External links

* (French only) {{DEFAULTSORT:Theatre National Populaire Villeurbanne Theatre companies in France Theatres in Lyon Buildings and structures in Rhône (department) Tourist attractions in Rhône (department)