Théâtre de la Madeleine

Théâtre de la Madeleine

The theater was created in 1924, and by 1925, Marcel Pagnol’s first play, “Les Marchands de Gloire,” was a success. The theater then distinguished itself with avant-garde and contemporary creations, and from 1930, La Madeleine became Sacha Guitry’s theater with notable plays such as “Le Nouveau Testament” or “N’écoutez pas, Mesdames.” In the 1950s-60s, the audience praised plays by Mauriac, Montherlant, Roussin, Marcel Aimé, and Colette.

La Madeleine has always offered an eclectic program, combining contemporary writing (creations by Yasmina Reza, Edward Albee, Emmanuelle Marie, Florian Zeller, Niels Arestrup, Sébastien Thiéry, Nicolas Bedos), masterpieces of dramatic literature (“L’école des femmes” by Molière, “La Danse de mort” by Strindberg, “Maison de poupée” by Ibsen), and modern authors (“Je me souviens” by Georges Perec, “La Maladie de la mort” or “L’Amante anglaise” by Marguerite Duras, Quartett by Heiner Müller).

The greatest actors have left their mark of talent and contributed to the radiance of the theater and its image. Notable names include Philippe Torreton, Sami Frey, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Fanny Ardant, Gérard Depardieu, Claudia Cardinale, André Dussollier, Anouk Aimée, Philippe Noiret, Nicole Garcia, Jacques Weber, Isabelle Carré, Charlotte Rampling, Jean-François Balmer, Jean Rochefort, Sylvie Testud, Thierry Lhermitte, Jeanne Moreau, Eddy Mitchell, Laetitia Casta, Alain Delon, Valérie Bruni-Tedeschi, Stéphane Freiss, Ludmila Mikaël, Audrey Tautou, Guy Bedos, Richard Berry, Julie Depardieu, Niels Arestrup, Patrick Chesnais, François Berléand, Isabelle Gélinas, Michel Aumont, Marianne Basler…

In late 2015, Dominique Bergin and Michel Lumbroso (with 3S Entertainment – Fimalac Group) partnered to take over the management of this mythical, magical, and exceptional theater, following in the footsteps of illustrious predecessors: Jean Desailly and Simone Valère, Fréderic Franck and Jean-Claude Camus. They entrusted the artistic direction to Philippe Lellouche, who has been offering a “Pop Chic” program: a modern, popular theater with meaning, oriented towards comedy, believing that in these times, entertaining ourselves while asking fundamental questions could bring us closer to the art of language that Molière and Sacha Guitry, among others, have shown us. Our ambition is to make this historic place a space for life, joy, emotions, passions, laughter, culture, reflection, wonder, encounters, and sharing. “The theater is life; minus the dull moments,” Alfred Hitchcock.