| Address | 37 bis, boulevard de la Chapelle |
|---|---|
| City | Paris |
| Country | France |
| Capacity | 503 |
| Opened | 1876 |
| Previous names | Théâtre Molière (1904-1914) Théâtre des Carrefours (1945-?) |
| www.bouffesdunord.com | |
The Bouffes du Nord is a theater at 37 bis, boulevard de la Chapelle in the 10th arrondissement of Paris located near the Gare du Nord. It is registered as a historic monument.
Founded in 1876, it had an erratic existence and seemed that it would never get off the ground. In its first decade it had no fewer than fifteen artistic directors, the most notorious being Olga Léaud who fled the theater after her production had failed, taking the contents of the theater safe with her.
The theater's fortunes were revived briefly in 1885 by the arrival of Abel Ballet as the director. In 1896 Abel Ballet left the direction of Bouffes North. The two actors Emmanuel Clot and G. Dublay succeeded him. In 1904 the theater, under the direction of its directors, was entirely restored, repainted, and equipped with electricity. The theatre was renamed the Théâtre Molière and authors such as Arthur Bernède and Gaston Leroux were assembled to write plays for the newly-named theater. In August 1914 the Théâtre Molière, like other theatres, closed its doors. Until 1974 the theater was inhabited by a number of theater companies, none of which were able to afford the repairs and maintenance needed for it to conform with security regulations.
British director Peter Brook took over the theater in 1974 as the home for his theater company. In 2008, Brook announced that he would slowly hand the reins over to Olivier Mantei, deputy head of the Paris opera company Opéra-Comique and head of the musical programming at the Bouffes du Nord, and Olivier Poubelle, a theatre entrepreneur specialising in modern music.