Théâtre du Rond-Point
Encyclopedia
Théâtre du Rond-Point is a theatre in Paris, located at 2bis avenue Franklin-D.-Roosevelt, 8th arrondissement.
for a rotunda in the Champs Elysees. Inaugurated in 1839, this structure was integrated with other Hittorff buildings for the Exposition Universelle (1855)
and destroyed the following year. A new replacement panorama, Le Panorama National, was designed by architect Gabriel Davioud
at the corner of the Avenue d'Antin (now Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt) and the Champs-Elysees.
In December 1893, the rotunda became the Palais des Glaces (Ice Palace), one of the most popular attractions of Belle Epoque
Paris.
In the post-war years, the Theatre du Rond-Point was one of the principal venues—along with the Theatre Marigny
and the Theatre de l'Odeon—where the Madeleine Renaud
-Jean-Louis Barrault
Company introduced the world to many of the plays of Jean Giraudoux
, Eugene Ionesco
, Jean Anouilh
, and Samuel Beckett
.
The theatre was managed by Jean-Louis Barrault from 1958 to 1968, when he was dismissed from the Gare d'Orsay
during the student uprising in the spring of that year. The theatre was renovated in 1981. Further renovations in were done in 2002 under the directorship of Jean-Michel Ribes
. The theatre is now devoted to the work of living authors.
History
The theatre began with an 1838 project of architect Jacques Ignace HittorffJacques Ignace Hittorff
Jakob Ignaz Hittorff was a German-born French architect who combined advanced structural use of new materials, notably cast iron, with conservative Beaux-Arts classicism in a career that spanned the decades from the Restoration to the Second Empire.After serving an apprenticeship to a mason in his...
for a rotunda in the Champs Elysees. Inaugurated in 1839, this structure was integrated with other Hittorff buildings for the Exposition Universelle (1855)
Exposition Universelle (1855)
The Exposition Universelle of 1855 was an International Exhibition held on the Champs-Elysées in Paris from May 15 to November 15, 1855. Its full official title was the Exposition Universelle des produits de l'Agriculture, de l'Industrie et des Beaux-Arts de Paris 1855.The exposition was a major...
and destroyed the following year. A new replacement panorama, Le Panorama National, was designed by architect Gabriel Davioud
Gabriel Davioud
Jean-Antoine-Gabriel Davioud was a French architect.Davioud was born in Paris and studied at the École des Beaux-Arts under Léon Vaudoyer...
at the corner of the Avenue d'Antin (now Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt) and the Champs-Elysees.
In December 1893, the rotunda became the Palais des Glaces (Ice Palace), one of the most popular attractions of Belle Epoque
Belle Époque
The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. Occurring during the era of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, it was a period characterised by optimism and new technological and medical...
Paris.
In the post-war years, the Theatre du Rond-Point was one of the principal venues—along with the Theatre Marigny
Théâtre Marigny
The Théâtre Marigny is a theatre in Paris, situated near the junction of the Champs-Élysées and the Avenue Marigny, in the 8th arrondissement. It was originally built to designs of the architect Charles Garnier for the display of a panorama, which opened in 1883...
and the Theatre de l'Odeon—where the Madeleine Renaud
Madeleine Renaud
Madeleine Renaud was a distinguished actress and a major figure in French theater in the 20th century. She was born Lucie Madeleine Renaud in Paris and died there, aged 94, in 1994....
-Jean-Louis Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault
Jean-Louis Barrault was a French actor, director and mime artist, training that served him well when he portrayed the 19th-century mime Jean-Gaspard Deburau in Marcel Carné's 1945 film Les Enfants du Paradis .Jean-Louis Barrault studied with Charles Dullin in whose troupe he acted...
Company introduced the world to many of the plays of Jean Giraudoux
Jean Giraudoux
Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His work is noted for its stylistic elegance and poetic fantasy...
, Eugene Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
, Jean Anouilh
Jean Anouilh
Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1943 play Antigone, an adaptation of Sophocles' Classical drama, that was seen as an attack on Marshal Pétain's...
, and Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
.
The theatre was managed by Jean-Louis Barrault from 1958 to 1968, when he was dismissed from the Gare d'Orsay
Gare d'Orsay
Gare d'Orsay is a former Paris railway station and hotel, built in 1900 to designs by Victor Laloux, Lucien Magne and Émile Bénard; it served as a terminus for the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans . It was the first electrified urban rail terminal in the world, opened 28 May 1900, in time for the...
during the student uprising in the spring of that year. The theatre was renovated in 1981. Further renovations in were done in 2002 under the directorship of Jean-Michel Ribes
Jean-Michel Ribes
Jean-Michel Ribes is a French actor, playwright, screenwriter, theatre director and film maker. Since 2002 he has been the managing director of the Théâtre du Rond-Point.- Awards :* 2001: Plaisir du Théâtre Award...
. The theatre is now devoted to the work of living authors.