Jacques Copeau (French: [kÉ"po]; 4 February 1879 â€" 20 October 1949)
was a French theatre director, producer, actor, and dramatist. Before
he founded his famous Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in Paris, he wrote
theatre reviews for several Parisian journals, worked at the Georges
Petit Gallery where he organized exhibits of artists' works and helped
found the Nouvelle Revue Française in 1909, along with writer
friends, such as André Gide and Jean Schlumberger.Twentieth century
French theatre is marked by Copeau's outlook. According to Albert
Camus, "in the history of the French theatre, there are two periods:
before Copeau and after Copeau."[1]The child of a well-off
middle-class family, the Paris-born Copeau was raised in Paris and
attended the best schools. At the Lycée Condorcet, he was a talented
but nonchalant student whose interest in theatre already consumed him.
His first staged play, Brouillard du matin ("Morning Fog"), was
presented on 27 March 1897 at the Nouveau-Théâtre as part of the
festivities of the alumni association of the Lycée Condorcet. The
former president of the French Republic, Casimir-Perier, and the
playwright Georges de Porto-Riche both congratulated him on his
work.[citation needed]During the same period when Copeau was preparing
his baccalauréat exams, he met Agnès Thomsen, a young Danish woman
seven years his elder who was in Paris to perfect her French. They
first met on 13 March 1896,[2] and Copeau, then a seventeen-year-old
high school student, quickly fell in love.[citation needed]
was a French theatre director, producer, actor, and dramatist. Before
he founded his famous Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in Paris, he wrote
theatre reviews for several Parisian journals, worked at the Georges
Petit Gallery where he organized exhibits of artists' works and helped
found the Nouvelle Revue Française in 1909, along with writer
friends, such as André Gide and Jean Schlumberger.Twentieth century
French theatre is marked by Copeau's outlook. According to Albert
Camus, "in the history of the French theatre, there are two periods:
before Copeau and after Copeau."[1]The child of a well-off
middle-class family, the Paris-born Copeau was raised in Paris and
attended the best schools. At the Lycée Condorcet, he was a talented
but nonchalant student whose interest in theatre already consumed him.
His first staged play, Brouillard du matin ("Morning Fog"), was
presented on 27 March 1897 at the Nouveau-Théâtre as part of the
festivities of the alumni association of the Lycée Condorcet. The
former president of the French Republic, Casimir-Perier, and the
playwright Georges de Porto-Riche both congratulated him on his
work.[citation needed]During the same period when Copeau was preparing
his baccalauréat exams, he met Agnès Thomsen, a young Danish woman
seven years his elder who was in Paris to perfect her French. They
first met on 13 March 1896,[2] and Copeau, then a seventeen-year-old
high school student, quickly fell in love.[citation needed]
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.