Theatrical decentralization

The theatrical decentralization or dramatic decentralization is a French Cultural policy, initiated under the Fourth republic, aiming at developing the production and the theatrical diffusion in the areas.

First steps

While the theater strongly developed in Paris under the Second Empire, one sees appearing with the birth of the 20th century, a will to show the theater with the greatest number while settling in province. Thus, Maurice Pottecher created the Theater of the People, in 1895, with Bussang, and a festival mixing the professionals and the local population.

This will results in the constitution of several itinerant companies which furrow France, like the travelling National theater of Firmin Gémier starting from 1911, room of 1600 places transported from cities downtown by tractors with vapor, and the road Actors of Leon Chancerel (1923) to which takes part Hubert Gignoux. In 1924, Jacques Chip, founder of the Theater of the Old man-Dovecote (1913), and installs the Copiaus with Pernand-Vergelesses to play the parts of the repertory in the villages of Burgundy. Louis Ducreux founds the company of the gray Curtain with Marseilles in 1931, to which joint in 1933 André Roussin when it professionalize partially. In 1932, created the Group October, in optics to leave the dramatic art the middle-class theater, to be presented in the factories, and to constitute a “working theater”.

At the same time, the Parisian scenes try to more open the theater of author to all. In 1913, Copeau launches a call with youth, well-read men people and all, for a dramatic restoration. With the opening of the Theater of the Old Dovecote, it promotes a cheap theater, combining new creations and traditional parts, which it supplements of a school of comedy. In 1924 is born also the popular National theater from Gémier.

In parallel the setting in scene evolves/moves, with the image of the Théâtre of the People published by Romain Roland in 1903. Chip preaches the simplicity of the decorations to develop the text, with the concept of “naked trestle”. Its accomplice Charles Dullin creates in his line the Workshop in 1921, where it attempts to find fundamental theatrical art, near to that of the travelling acrobats. Its school, leave Antonin Artaud, Roger Blin, Jean-Louis Barrault, Jean Vilar, Marguerite Jamois… With Louis Jouvet, also resulting from the Old dovecote, Gaston Baty, and Georges Pitoëff, Dullin founds the Trust in 1927, to fight against the marketing of the theater. They recommend a theater of art and research, around the return to the texts, of the second reading of traditional and discovered foreign authors (Ibsen, Tchekov…). Last nine years later, Baty, Dullin and Jouvet are called with Copeau with the Comédie-Française by Edouard Bourdet, to modernize it.

1946-1952: The launching of a policy of State

Even if the idea of a decentralized popular theater grew during the inter-war period, the State is not at the origin of these actions, whereas Charles Dullin recommends since 1937, in a report which it submits to the Minister for State education in 1937, to set up “theatrical prefectures” to develop the existence of the theater of art in areas. In spite of the local and individual experiments, the essence of the theatrical life remains concentrated in Paris, and remains commercial and middle-class spectacles, around some traditional and light comedies of the repertory, which seldom leave the capital in rounds.

Under the Mode of Vichy, association Young France, under the supervision of the government, frames local initiatives of cultural and theatrical diffusion through the country. One finds there actors of the future dramatic decentralization like André Clavé and Jean Vilar with the company of Roulotte. The actors go from villages in villages, playing in rooms of patronages, bars or scenes improvised in the street.

With the Release, Jeanne Laurent, named in 1946 by Jacques Jaujard, sub-manageress with the spectacles and the music with the head office of Arts and Letters, initiates a marked official policy to leave the theater Paris and while redynamisant creation. It is based on the network of the popular education, and the directors like Dullin, Clavé, Jean Vilar, and Louis Jouvet, named “to advise close the head office of Arts and Letters for all questions touching with dramatic decentralization” in 1952. During six years, it imposes a reform of the French theatrical landscape by an official intervention resting on two actions: decentralization, consisting in creating places on the French territory, and democratization, seeking to touch a popular public.

Two first national dramatic centers (CDN) around permanent troops, the CDN of Alsace in 1946 in Colmar, and the Comedy of Saint-Etienne in 1947, are thus created. Follow the CDN of Rennes, Toulouse (1949) and Aix-en-Provence (1952). With Jean Vilar, it sticks to the popular theater through new the NPT and the Festival of Avignon. The theatrical revival, carried by these directors and their companies, installed in province (Jean Dasté with Saint-Etienne, Hubert Gignoux in Rennes, Maurice Sarrazin in Toulouse, Andre Clavé in Colmar…) is supplemented by a school of training of actors in Colmar. This revival also results in the opening of the festivals and the theatrical places to other alive arts like the dance. Through directors influenced by the pioneers (Jean Dasté and Michel Saint-Denis belonged to Copiaus, as Leon Chancerel which accommodates Gignoux in its road Actors, Jean Vilar followed the courses of Dullin, Baty was the assistant of Gémier and member of the Trust, etc), the swarming of the dramatic troops makes known everywhere in France the style and the spirit of the Trust of the four (renewal of the setting in scene and discovered foreign authors). The regional companies appear more creative then than the places of the capital, and are rewarded by creation in 1946 for the contest for the young companies, where are preceded inter alia, the company of the Attic of Toulouse and those of the Young actors, who will become national dramatic centers of Toulouse and Rennes.

But this decentralization is not done without clashes. Jeanne Laurent essuie of the attacks of several owners of Parisian theaters. They indeed regarded this money distributed in province as wasted, because given to bad actors who are not seen. Locally, it is necessary also that the setters in scenes often “parachuted”, are binding locally vis-a-vis a population suspicieuses vis-a-vis the Parisian artists. The trade unions as for them reproach the companies decentralized not to engage machinists.

If this decentralization is limited, since it is neither political, nor financial (the State keeping the control of the establishment of the centers and their pecuniary support), it appears however exemplary. For Pascal Ory, “the device which is gradually set up between 1946 and 1951, if it were not theorized a priori, is of a great coherence and an obvious effectiveness: at the base a contest of young companies, periodic confrontation of the theatrical experiments; at the top the popular National theater (TNP), entrusted to Jean Vilar, who assigns with the theater a role of “public service”, finally, between the two levels, the CDN, responsible for a mission of popularization of the theater in province”.

1959-1969: The development

In 1959, Andre Malraux, Minister for the cultural Affairs of De Gaulle takes again this policy by creating the Maisons of the Culture. The first house of the Culture is inaugurated in Le Havre in June 1961, followed into 1963 of those of Caen, Bourges and Paris (Theater of the Parisian East). The national dramatic centers continue to be labellized also, like the Comedy of Bourges of Gabriel Monnet and the Theater of Villeurbanne of Roger Planchon. In 1966, the Houses of the Culture of Amiens, Thonon and Firminy open, while the Theater of the Parisian East becomes CDN. In 1968, Rheims and Grenoble also have their house of the Culture.

The ministry subsidizes also permanent troops: the theater of the City of Roger Planchon with Villeurbanne in 1959, six the following year (the Comedy from the Alps in Grenoble directed by Rene Lesage and Bernard Floriet, the Theater of Burgundy of Jacques Fornier, the Champagne Theater of Andre Mairal, the daily Theater of Marseilles of Michel Fontayne, the Comedy of Nantes of Jean Guichard and the Theater of the Parisian East (Mtoe) of Guy Rétoré), then the Trestles of France of Jean Danet in 1962, the Popular Theater of Flandres of Cyril Robichez with Lille and the troop of OJ Tréhard with Caen in 1963, and the Theater of Cothurne of Marcel Maréchal in 1967. These permanent troops join the network of the national dramatic centers later. In Parisian suburbs, several theaters open, with Aubervilliers, Nanterre and Montreuil.

The events of May 1968 touch the decentralized theater. The cultural structures financed by the State are at the same time criticized by the demonstrators, who sees there a culture of State and élitiste, and by the capacity gaullist who consider that they are nests of provocative agents. The theater of Odéon is occupied by the students, Jean-Louis Barrault thanked. The theater of the City accommodates a Standing Committee gathering the popular theater directors and of the houses of the culture, which affirm in the declaration of Villeurbanne their support for the students and strikers, criticize the concept of the houses of the culture, and the weakness of the policies of the state as regards alive arts. They call into question the concept of the esthetic shock and preaches a politization of Article the Festival of Avignon is reduced, its founder chahuté with the cries of “Vilar, Béjart, Salazar! ”, and a Off festival emerges.

At the end of the years gaulliennes, the houses of the culture did not reach not the number hoped by Malraux: only seven in 1969 whereas he had announced of them one in each department in 1962. Some become municipal theaters like the theater of Caen, of the Youth club and arts centres (Firminy), and others close (Châlon-sur-saône and Nevers). Jean Vilar dies in 1971, and the theater of the City of Planchon inherits the popular title of National theater.

Consolidation

The Houses of the culture and the dramatic centers national are supplemented by Jacques Duhamel as from 1972 by the centers of cultural activity (CAC) (the first date of 1968 with the Creusot) then by the development centres cultural under Jack Lang, more modest and general-purpose structures. These three types of multi-field structures are joined together in 1991 in the national scenes, dedicated to the reception and the diffusion.

The result of this decentralization is the constitution of a dense network of theatrical equipment, gathered around four Parisian national theaters (Comédie-Française, Chaillot, Odéon, the Hill) and that of Strasbourg, of the 32 national dramatic centers, of the 2 national establishments of production and artistic diffusion dedicated to the young public and of the 68 national scenes. Moreover, since 1985, the State subsidizes by convention 7 regional dramatic centers.

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