Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Théâtre Montparnasse, originally named Gaîté-Montparnasse, was built in 1868 by the limonadier François Jamin from materials recovered from the theatre of the Universal Exhibition of 1867. Opened as a café-concert under the name Concert de la Gaîté-Montparnasse, it welcomed major artists such as Polin, Yvette Guilbert or Mayol, before becoming a landmark of the music-hall with figures such as Maurice Chevalier or Fréhel. Its entrance, first located Chaussée du Maine, was moved to Rue de la Gaîté, and gas lighting gave way to electricity in 1896.

In the 1930s, the decline of the café-concert pushed Georgius to take over the place, renamed Studio d'Art Comique before going bankrupt in 1935. During the Second World War, the music hall experienced a renewed popularity. From 1945, Agnès Capri transformed him into avant-garde theatre (Théâtre Agnès Capri), then he was directed by figures such as Michel Fagadau (1958–1982) and Louis-Michel Colla (since 1998). The theatre, registered as a historical monument in 1984, has 399 seats and remains a pillar of the Parisian scene, combining classical (Father Christmas is a piece of garbage) and contemporary creations.

The architecture of the theatre, partly inherited from the Universal Exhibition, retains an original internal structure, while its facade was rebuilt. Renovated several times (notably in 1958 by Michel Fagadau), in 2010 he joined the network Théâtres parisiennes associés, a group of 50 private theatres. Today, it offers eclectic programming, from one-man-show (Patrick Timsit) to literary adaptations (The Bossu de Notre-Dame), while being accessible to people with reduced mobility and air conditioning.

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