Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Théâtre du Rond-Point came into being in 1838 when architect Jacques Hittorff built a rotunda in the Champs-Élysées for Louis-Philippe. Destroyed in 1856, it was replaced in 1860 by the National Panorama, designed by Gabriel Davioud, where circular paintings depicting historical battles and exotic landscapes are exhibited. Directed by Jean-Charles Langlois, this cultural place becomes a symbol of the Parisian entertainment of the Second Empire.

In 1893, the decline of the panoramas led to its transformation into the Palace of Glace, a covered rink emblematic of the Belle Époque. Equipped with a basement refrigeration plant and an orchestra of 50 musicians, it attracted all-Paris until the 1970s. Jean Cocteau describes her as a "measurable mint pastille", evoking her festive atmosphere and virtuoso skaters.

In 1981, the Renaud-Barrault Company invested the premises after they left the Orsay station, turning the rotunda into a theatre. Under the direction of Jean-Louis Barrault, the site programme of contemporary works (Duras, Beckett) and Asian shows. In 1991, Cherif Khaznadar took over, modernising the spaces with architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte.

From 1994 to 2000, Marcel Marshal redesigned the rooms, including the Renaud-Barrault Hall (760 seats), and mounted classics like En attendant Godot. In 2001, Jean-Michel Ribes made it a temple of contemporary creation, producing only living authors. He created a third room and a logo signed Gérard Garouste, symbolizing a "author who dreams".

The theatre, which is 45% subsidized by the State and the city hall of Paris (€9 million in 2014), remains a public-private hybrid model. In 2023 Laurence de Magalhaes and Stéphane Ricordel succeeded Ribes. The site, classified as a Historic Monument in 1990 for its facades and roofs, now embodies the Parisian artistic daring.

Future

Since 2002, the theatre has been directed by Jean-Michel Ribes, who has made it a high place of contemporary creation by committing to producing and disseminating only living authors.

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