André Barsacq (24 January 1909 – 8 July 1973) was a French theatre director, producer, scenic designer, and playwright. From 1940 to 1973 he was the director of the

Théâtre de l'Atelier The Théâtre de l'Atelier () is a theatre at 1, place Charles Dullin in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The theatre opened on 23 November 1822 under the name Théâtre Montmartre.Edward Foreman, ''Historical dictionary of Fren ...

. He was the brother of Russian production designer Léon Barsacq and the uncle of film actor

Yves Barsacq Yves Barsacq (17 June 1931 – 4 October 2015) was a French film actor, who appeared in more than 150 films. He is the son of the French-Russian production designer Léon Barsacq and the nephew of the French theatre director André Barsacq ...

Life and career

Barsacq was born in the city of

Feodosiya Feodosia (, ''Feodosiia, Teodosiia''; , ''Feodosiya''), also called in English Theodosia (from ), is a city on the Crimean coast of the Black Sea. Feodosia serves as the administrative center of Feodosia Municipality, one of the regions into w ...

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. His father was French and his mother was Russian.Premier Cinema: Andre Barsacq
/ref> At the age of 15 he traveled to Paris to study at the School of Decorative Arts and lived in France from then on. In 1928 he was at the

working with its director, Charles Dullin on productions which included

Jules Romains Jules Romains (born Louis Henri Jean Farigoule; 26 August 1885 – 14 August 1972) was a French poet and writer and the founder of the Unanimism literary movement. His works include the play '' Knock ou le Triomphe de la médecine'', and a cyc ...

's 1923 play '' Knock''. As director of the Théâtre de l'Atelier he introduced Parisian audiences to the plays of Ugo Betti, Félicien Marceau, Marcel Ayme ('' The Moon Birds''),

Françoise Sagan Françoise Sagan (; born Françoise Delphine Quoirez; 21 June 1935 – 24 September 2004) was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned bourgeois ch ...

, René de Obaldia, and

Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant- ...

. He successfully adapted the works of

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influenti ...

, and

Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev ( ; rus, links=no, Иван Сергеевич ТургеневIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; – ) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poe ...

for the French stage. Oxford Companion to the Theatre: André Barsacq During his career he worked with

Antonin Artaud Antoine Maria Joseph Paul Artaud (; ; 4September 18964March 1948), better known as Antonin Artaud, was a French artist who worked across a variety of media. He is best known for his writings, as well as his work in the theatre and cinema. Widely ...

Jean-Louis Barrault Jean-Louis Bernard Barrault (; 8 September 1910 – 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist who worked on both screen and stage. Biography Barrault was born in Le Vésinet in France in 1910. His father was 'a Burgundi ...

, and Jacques Copeau.Jacques Copeau: biography of André Barsacq
/ref> Barsacq was a great admirer of

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; ; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist and screenwriter whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ...

and beginning with '' Le Bal des voleurs'' at Théâtre des Arts in 1938 produced almost all his plays, including, at some personal risk, the subversive ''

Antigone ANTIGONE (Algorithms for coNTinuous / Integer Global Optimization of Nonlinear Equations), is a deterministic global optimization solver for general Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programs (MINLP). History ANTIGONE is an evolution of GloMIQO, a global ...

'' in 1944 during the Nazi occupation. André Barsacq also worked with many major filmmakers including

Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier (; 23 April 1888 – 26 November 1979) was a French filmmaker who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued unti ...

Pierre Chenal Pierre Chenal (; 5 December 1904 – 23 December 1990) was a French director and screenwriter who flourished in the 1930s. He was married to Czech-born French film actress Florence Marly from 1937 to 1955. Work Chenal was best known for film noi ...

Jean Grémillon Jean Grémillon (; 3 October 1901 – 25 November 1959) was a French film director. Biography Grémillon was born in Bayeux and spent his early years in Cerisy-la-Forêt in Normandy. His father was employed by the Ouest railway company. Durin ...

Max Ophüls Maximillian Oppenheimer ( , ; 6 May 1902 – 26 March 1957), known as Max Ophüls ( , , ) or simply Ophuls, was a German and French film director and screenwriter. He was known for his opulent and lyrical visual style, with heavy use of trac ...

, and Pierre Billon.

Broadway shows

* 1963: ''Bérénice'' (director) Brooks Atkinson Theatre * 1960: ''The Good Soup'' (writer, director) Plymouth Theatre * 1957: ''

Volpone ''Volpone'' (, Italian for "sly fox") is a comedy play by English playwright Ben Jonson first produced in 1605–1606, drawing on elements of city comedy and beast fable. A merciless satire of greed and lust, it remains Jonson's most-perfo ...

'' (scenic design, costume design)

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Originally designed by architect William Albert Swasey, it opened in 1911. The Winter Garden's current des ...

Filmography

; Director and screenwriter * 1952: '' Crimson Curtain'' (director and screenwriter) * 1960: ''The Players'' (TV movie) (screenplay and adaptation) * 1964: ''Castle in Sweden'' (TV movie) (director) * 1966: ''A Month in the Country'' (TV movie) (director) * 1967: ''King Stag'' (TV movie) (director) * 1968: ''The Idiot'' (TV movie) (adaptation) * 1969: ''The Government Inspector'' (TV movie) (director) * 1972: ''The Birds of the Moon'' (TV movie) (director) * 1972: ''David'' (the night falls (TV movie) (director) * 1972: ''The Babur'' (TV movie) (director) * 1972: ''The Villains'' (TV movie) (director) ; Production designer * 1928: ''L'argent'' ir: Marcel L'Herbier(artistic director) * 1928: ''Maldone'' ir: Jean Grémillon(scenic designer) * 1929: ''The Lighthouse Keepers'' ir: Jean Grémillon(designer and assistant director) * 1934: ''La dolorosa'' ir: Jean Grémillon(assistant director) * 1936: '' Southern Mail'' ir: Pierre Billon(scenic designer) * 1937: ''Yoshiwara'' ir: Max Ophüls(artistic director) * 1940: ''Volpone'' ir: Maurice Tourneur(scenic designer) * 1942: ''The Honorable Catherine'' ir: Marcel L'Herbier(artistic director) * 1942: '' Summer Light'' ir: Jean Grémillon(artistic director)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barsacq, Andre 1909 births 1973 deaths People from Feodosia People from Feodosiysky Uyezd French people of Russian descent French theatre directors 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights French scenic designers French film directors Burials at Batignolles Cemetery Soviet emigrants to France