Vieux-Colombier

(Theater of the Old Dovecot), a French theater founded in Paris in 1913 by the actor and director J. Copeau. A protest against vulgarity and the lack of ideological content that dominated the Parisian theater was apparent in the activity of the Vieux-Colombier. Affirming the educational and ethical significance of the theater, Copeau strove to create poetic and philosophical productions. The studio atmosphere, the actors’ high artistic responsibility, and the significant dramas in its repertoire (Shakespeare, Moliere, A. Musset, F. M. Dostoevsky, and others) won the theater wide recognition. However, the troupe ceased to exist in 1924 because of financial difficulties. In 1933-35 troupes under the direction of the prominent French theatrical figures G. Pitoëffand L. Pitoëff and the student and follower of Copeau M. Saint-Denis worked in the theater’s quarters. Subsequently, occasional troupes performed in the theater’s quarters and various directors rented the building for isolated productions. In the postwar years the directors of the theater were A. Badel, R. Domes, and J. Fabry (a student of Copeau). The theater’s repertoire included works by such writers as J. Racine, J. P. Sartre, J. Anouilh, J. Giraudoux, L. Pirandello, A. Gatti, and G. Neveux. The Vieux-Colombier toured the USSR in 1960.