Théâtre Libre
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[edit] Théâtre Libre 1887 - 1896
[edit] The beginning of the Independent Theatre Movement
[edit] History
The Theatre Libre was founded in Paris by André Antoine in 1887. Andre Antoine opened this theater because he wanted to create a dramatization of a Zola novel. The theater group he worked for at the time said no. So he created the Theatre Libre. This theater was exempt from censorship. Theatre Libre means the Free Theater. The theater did many performances that were denied at other places. One example is Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts it had been banned in most of Europe. The theater would also do at least one foreign work per year. Some of them included Leo Tolstoy, August Strindberg's Miss Julie, B.M. Bjørnson's A Bankruptcy, and Gerhart Hauptmann . It was the first of its kind and inspired many theaters and different approaches to acting. The theater had many problems, though. Actors left as they became more "famous". The theater would only do 3 performances of any production. The theater finally failed financially but it had done more than 100 plays by more than 50 playwrights. In 1894 Antoine let another director take it over since he was in severe debt. He ran it 2 more years until 1896.
[edit] Influence
The Libre Theatre combined Realism with Naturalism. Andre Antoine became known as the father of Naturalistic Staging. An example of the Realism used was when Andre Antoine once used real beef carcasses hanging on stage. The theater tried to make every play as real as possible. A lot of sets were set up with all 4 walls then Andre Antoine would decide which wall to remove for the audience to see the play. Andre encouraged more natural acting and emphasized ensemble acting. Another thing he did was replaced footlights with more natural lighting. Andre believed each play had its own unique environment.
