Théâtre Antoine-Simone Berriau

The Théâtre Antoine-Simone Berriau began its life in eighteen sixty-six as the Théâtre des Menus-Plaisirs, a name derived from the royal department that once managed the festivities and ceremonies of the French court. Over its century and a half of existence, the building has operated under at least five different names, serving as a chameleon in the Parisian cultural scene. It gained its most enduring identity in eighteen eighty-eight when the pioneering director André Antoine moved his company here. Antoine transformed the space into a laboratory for naturalism, famously experimenting with staging techniques like using real beef carcasses on stage to achieve total authenticity for his actors.