The Théâtre des Funambules ('The Theatre of the Tightrope-Walkers') was a former theater located on the

boulevard du Temple The Boulevard du Temple, formerly nicknamed the " Boulevard du Crime", is a thoroughfare in Paris that separates the 3rd arrondissement from the 11th. It runs from the Place de la République to the Place Pasdeloup, and its name refers to the ...

in Paris, sometimes called the

Boulevard du Crime The Boulevard du Crime was the nickname given in the 19th century to the Boulevard du Temple in Paris because of the many crime melodramas that were shown every night in its many theaters. It is notorious in French history for having lost so man ...

. It was located between the prominent Théâtre de la Gaîté, and the much smaller

Théâtre des Délassements-Comiques Théâtre des Délassements-Comiques is a name that was used for a number of different theatres in Paris from 1785 to 1890. First (boulevard du Temple, 1785–1799) The first Délassements-Comiques was a small theatre on the boulevard du Temple, ...

. Originally an informal venue for acrobatics and pantomime a theatre was eventually built in 1816. Originally seating 500, it was later enlarged to accommodate 773. The Funambules became celebrated for the performances of the '

Pierrot Pierrot ( , , ) is a stock character of pantomime and ''commedia dell'arte'', whose origins are in the late seventeenth-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a diminutive of ''P ...

' mime

Jean-Gaspard Deburau Jean-Gaspard Deburau (born Jan Kašpar Dvořák; 31 July 1796 – 17 June 1846), sometimes erroneously called Debureau, was a Bohemian-French mime. He performed from 1816 to the year of his death at the Théâtre des Funambules, which was ...

, between around 1819 and 1846, and also the early career of the great classical actor

Frédérick Lemaître Antoine Louis Prosper "Frédérick" Lemaître (28 July 1800 – 26 January 1876) was a French actor and playwright, one of the most famous players on the celebrated Boulevard du Crime. Biography Lemaître, the son of an architect, was bo ...

. The theatre was demolished in 1862, along with other neighboring venues such as Théâtre de la Gaîté, during

Haussmann's renovation of Paris Haussmann's renovation of Paris was a vast public works programme commissioned by Emperor Napoleon III and directed by his prefect of Seine, Georges-Eugène Haussmann, between 1853 and 1870. It included the demolition of medieval neighbourh ...

Popular culture

The 1938 German film ''

Dance on the Volcano ''Dance on the Volcano'' (German: ''Tanz auf dem Vulkan'') is a 1938 German historical musical comedy film directed by Hans Steinhoff and starring Gustaf Gründgens, Sybille Schmitz and Ralph Arthur Roberts. It was shot at the Johannisthal ...

'' featured

Gustaf Gründgens Gustaf Gründgens (; 22 December 1899 – 7 October 1963), born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg ...

Marcel Carné Marcel Albert Carné (; 18 August 1906 – 31 October 1996) was a French film director. A key figure in the poetic realism movement, Carné's best known films include ''Port of Shadows'' (1938), '' Le Jour Se Lève'' (1939), '' The Devil's Envoy ...

set his 1945 French film ''

Les Enfants du Paradis ''Children of Paradise'' (original French title: ''Les Enfants du Paradis'') is a two-part French romantic drama film by Marcel Carné, produced under war conditions in 1943, 1944, and early 1945 in both Vichy France and Occupied France. Set in ...

'' in the Théâtre des Funambules to evoke the atmosphere of the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 ...

(1830–48), including the figures of Deburau and Lemaître among the main roles.

References

;Sources
Encarta, accessed 16 August 2011
*Hartnoll, Phyllis and Found, Peter (1996): ''Funambules, Théâtre des.'' The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. Encyclopedia.com. (August 16, 2011)

;Other sources * Péricaud, Louis (1897): ''Le Théâtre des Funambules, ses mimes, ses acteurs et ses pantomimes, depuis sa fondation jusqu'à sa démolition'

External links

About the boulevard du Temple on Cosmovisions.com.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theatre Des Funambules Former theatres in Paris 11th arrondissement of Paris Theatres completed in 1816 Buildings and structures demolished in 1862 1816 establishments in France Demolished buildings and structures in Paris