street name
A street name is an identifying name given to a street or road. In toponymic terminology, names of streets and roads are referred to as odonyms or hodonyms (from Ancient Greek 'road', and 'name', i.e., the Doric Greek, Doric and Aeolic Gre ...
of Anthoine Girard (c. 1584 – August 16, 1633), the most famous Parisian street
charlatan
A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through pretense or deception. One example of a charlatan appears in t ...
of his day, who amused his audiences in the
Place Dauphine
The Place Dauphine () is a public square located near the western end of the Île de la Cité in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, first arrondissement of Paris. It was initiated by Henry IV of France, Henry IV in 1607, the second of his projects ...
by farcical dialogue with his brother Philippe (as Mondor), with whom he reaped a golden harvest by the sale of quack medicines for several years after 1618.
Street theatre
Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves, college or universi ...
was popular theatre, on an improvised stage with a curtain backdrop, to the music of a
hurdy-gurdy
The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-turned crank, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin (or nyckelharpa) bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar ...
and a set of
viol
The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...
s. More formal contemporary performances were confined to the royal court or to the Hotel de Bourgogne, overseen by the medieval guild that had the monopoly of theatrical performances in Paris.
A contemporary woodcut shows Tabarin in the dress of a clown, but with a gallant moustache and pointed beard, carrying a wooden sword, like his distant puppet descendant Mr. Punch, — which would trip him up— and wearing a soft grey felt hat capable of assuming countless amusing shapes in his deft fingers. ''Tabarin'' from French ''tabard'' denotes a short cloak of the kind the ''
commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...
'' figure Scaramouche wears.
In more elaborate weekly performances others appeared, notably his wife. In these he based his bawdy jokes on the stock situations of ''commedia dell'arte'' troupes, which were amusing the French court at the time, brought up to date for Parisians by running banter of topical allusions and knowing local jokes, based on his original gifts for
improvisation
Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...
. The Girard brothers retired about 1628, purchased a ''seigneurie'' and lived out their retirement as country gentlemen near
Orléans
Orléans (,"Orleans" (US) and Le Chapeau de Tabarin that could be rolled into a variety of shapes to aid his characterizations (see " Chapeaugraphy"), were two old men Lucas and Piphagne whose echoes still resound in the '' Barber of Seville'', and the witty and self-reliant ladies Francisquine and Isabella. A
Falstaff
Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...
ian old soldier (based on the '' miles gloriosus'' of Roman comedy) named Capitaine Rodomonte, gave his name to the '' rodomontade'' of French theater, an extravagantly inflated and drawn-out tirade of deluded self-confidence, vain threats and invective. Both
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...
and La Fontaine, who praised him, were influenced by the Tabarin tradition of coarse quick repartee, and he was also well spoken of, long after he was gone, by Boileau and
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
.
''Tabarin'' became the French
eponym
An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...
of any comic performer of a street booth. It was taken up as a
cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...
that was made immortal by a Paul Colin poster which epitomized the 1920s.
With this history Tabarin is the foundation of Bal Tabarin. A famous cabaret business.
File:Théâtre de Tabarin - Abraham Bosse - Gallica (adjusted).jpg, Street theatre of Tabarin, engraved by