Théâtre du Soleil
"The Theater of the Sun") is a Parisian avant-garde stage ensemble founded by Ariane Mnouchkine, Philippe Léotard and fellow students of the L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in 1964 as a collective of theatre artists.
Le Théâtre du Soleil is located at La Cartoucherie, a former munitions factory in the Vincennes area of eastern Paris.
1979–80: Mephisto, Le Roman d'une Carriere 1981–84: Translated works of Shakespeare are presented in cycles, including Richard II and Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 1985–86: L'Histoire Terrible Mais Inachevee de Norodom Sihanouk, Roi du Cambodge 1987–88: L'Indiade ou L'Inde de leurs Reves 1989: Film version of La Nuit Miraculeuse 1990–93: Cycle Les Atrides (including Ipighenie a Aulis, Agamemnon, Les Choephores, and Les Eumenides) 1993: L'Inde, de Pere en Fils, de Mere en Fille 1994: La Ville perjure ou le Reveil des Erinyes 1996–97: Film Au Soleil Meme la Nuit 1997–98: Et Soudain des Nuits d'Eveil Tout est Bien qui Finit Bien 1999–2002: La Ville Parjure ou le Reveil des Erinyes Tambours sur la Digue 2003–2006: Le Dernier Caravanserail (Odyssees) Le Fleuve Cruel Origines et Destins 2007–2009: Les Ephemeres 2008: Film L'Aventure du Theatre du Soleil 2010–2011: Les Naufrages du Fol Espoir (reached 200th performance in February 2011) 2014–2015: Macbeth 2016–2019: Une Chambre en Inde (A Room in India, performed in New York City in December 2017, at the Park Avenue Armory [4]) 2018: Kanata (directed by Robert Lepage, with the troupe of Théâtre du Soleil) Somewhere, point unknown along the timeline, a maskmaking master I Setiawan Nyoman created masks for the theatre.
[5] Although they have never presented a formalized mission statement, they have been characterized by a commitment to the merging of a wide variety of art forms, both Western and non-Western, and a fair wage.
The collective, consisting of 70 members as of July 2009,[6] takes the concept and direction for their original productions from founder Ariane Mnouchkine.
Their six-hour-long 2005 production Le Dernier Caravansérail (Odyssées) was based on a compilation of letters and interviews collected by Mnouchkine and her colleagues from refugee camps from around the world, while Les Ephemeres in 2009 was based on nine months of improvisations stemming from Mnouchkine's question: What would you do if you found out that all of humanity would die out within three months?
The production took over two years to mount, played in numerous countries including the United States and Germany, and integrated several forms of Asian dance and drama.
A number of her fellow students were also her collaborators in the initial founding of the company, including:[5] Mnouchkine refused to be interviewed alone for a New York Times article,[6] although individuals such as Hélène Cixous (playwright) and Jean-Jacques Lemetre (composer and musician) repeatedly fulfill specific production roles and have done so for many years.
[14] In 1987, the first artist to be awarded by the international jury of the Europe Theatre Prize chaired by Irene Papas was Ariane Mnouchkine for her work with the Théâtre du Soleil.
