The Théâtre Édouard VII, also called théâtre Édouard VII – Sacha Guitry, is located in Paris between the Madeleine and the Palais Garnier in the 9th arrondissement. The square, in which there is a statue of King Edward VII, was opened in 1911. The theatre itself, which was originally a cinema, was named in the honour of Edward VII, as he was nicknamed the "most Parisian of all Kings", appreciative of French culture. In the early to mid 1900s, under the direction of Sacha Guitry, the theatre became a symbol of Anglo-French friendship, where French people could discover and enjoy English works.
French actor and director Bernard Murat is the current director of the theatre. Modern "boulevard comedies" and vaudevilles are often performed there, and subtitled in English by the company Theatre in Paris.
Important figures in the arts, cinema and theatre have performed there, including Orson Welles, Eartha Kitt, and more. Pablo Picasso created props for a play at the Théâtre Édouard VII in 1944.
History
1916: Alphonse Franck 1916: All right revue in 2 acts and 14 tableaux by Rip 1917: La Folle Nuit ou Le Dérivatif musical by André Mouëzy-Éon and Félix Gandéra, music Marcel Pollet 1917: Son Petit Frère, two acts operetta by André Barde, music Charles Cuvillier 1917: Le Feu du voisin by Francis de Croisset 1917: La Jeune Fille au bain by Louis Verneuil 1917: La Petite Bonne d'Abraham, three acts biblical tale by André Mouëzy-Éon and Félix Gandéra, music by Marcel Pollet 1917: Il le faut ! by René Berton, Manon en voyage by Jules Massenet and Claude Terrasse, Rien qu'un by André Pascales (one act play and comic opera) 1919: Phi-Phi by Albert Willemetz and Henri Christiné 1919: Le Loup dans la bergerie 3 acts tale by Georges Manoir and Armand Verhyle after Balzac 1919: L'Enfantement du mort by Marcel L'Herbier 1920: L'École des satyres 1920: L'Erreur d'une nuit d'été by Philippe Maquet 1920: Je t'aime by Sacha Guitry 1921: Le Comédien by Sacha Guitry 1921: Le cœur dispose by Francis de Croisset 1921: Le Grand Duc by Sacha Guitry 1921: Faisons un rêve by Sacha Guitry 1921: Jacqueline by Sacha Guitry, after Henri Duvernois 1922: Jean de La Fontaine by Sacha Guitry 1922: Une petite main qui se place by Sacha Guitry 1922: Seul by Henri Duvernois 1922: Le Misanthrope by Molière 1923: Un sujet de roman by Sacha Guitry 1923: L'Amour masqué comédie musicale by Sacha Guitry and André Messager 1923: Le Lion et la poule by Sacha Guitry 1924: La Danseuse éperdue by René Fauchois 1924: L'Âge de raison by Paul Vialar 1924: L'École des femmes by Molière, directed by Lucien Guitry 1924: Une étoile nouvelle by Sacha Guitry 1925: On ne joue pas pour s'amuser by Sacha Guitry 1925: Mozart by Sacha Guitry, music Reynaldo Hahn 1926: A vol d'oiseau by Sacha Guitry and Albert Willemetz 1926: Souris d'hôtel by Paul Armont and Marcel Gerbidon 1926: The Co-Optimiste by Melville Gideon 1927: Knock Out by Jacques Natanson and Jacques Théry 1927: Désiré by Sacha Guitry 1927: Jean de La Fontaine by Sacha Guitry 1927: La Vagabonde by Colette 1928: Mariette ou Comment on écrit l'histoire by Sacha Guitry 1929: L'Amoureuse Aventure by Paul Armont and Marcel Gerbidon, directed by Jacques Baumer
1929: Louis Verneuil In 1929, Alphonse Franck is succeeded by Louis Verneuil for six months. 1929: Mademoiselle ma mère by Louis Verneuil 1929: Azaïs by Louis Verneuil 1929: Le Grand Voyage by Robert Cedric Sherriff 1929: Tu m'épouseras ! by Louis Verneuil 1930: Miss France by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil
1930: Maurice Lehmann In 1930, Maurice Lehmann becomes new director until 1931 when the place runs again as a movie theatre. 1930: Le Rendez-vous by Marcel Achard 1930: L'Assemblée des femmes by Maurice Donnay after Aristophanes
1931: Victor Francen 1931: Les Trois Chambres by Henri-René Lenormand 1931: Monsieur de Saint-Obin by André Picard and Harold Marsh Harwood 1931: Déodat by Henry Kistemaeckers
1931: Alphonse Franck At the end of the year 1931, Twentieth Century Fox takes over the movie theatre. 1938: L'Écurie Watson by Terence Rattigan, adaptation Pierre Fresnay and Maurice Sachs
1941: Robert Gallois In 1940, theatre returns. 1940: L'Insoumise by Pierre Frondaie 1941: Marché noir by Steve Passeur, directed by Camille Corney 1941: Arsène Lupin by Francis de Croisset and Maurice Leblanc 1942: Les J3 ou la nouvelle école by Roger-Ferdinand, directed by Jacques Baumer 1942: Jeunesse by Paul Nivoix 1942: Une belle histoire by Guy Rotter 1942: L'Honnête Florentine by Henry Chabrol
1943: Jean-Michel Renaitour and Jacqueline Heusch 1943: L'Affranchi by Charles Méré 1943: La Tragédie d'Alexandre by Paul Demasy
1944: Pierre Béteille 1944: Le Roi Christine by Marcelle Maurette 1944: Andromaque by Jean Racine, directed by Jean Cocteau 1944: A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, adaptation Georges Neveux 1944: Les Plus Beaux Yeux du monde by Jean Sarment 1945: Sérénade à trois by Noël Coward 1945: Tristan et Iseult by Lucien Fabre, directed by Alfred Pasquali 1945: Les Dames de Niskala by Hella Wuolijoki 1946: Les Derniers Seigneurs by Roger Ferdinand, directed by Jacques Baumer 1946: Les Pères ennemis by Charles Vildrac, directed by Georges Vitaly 1946: The Dybbuk by Shalom Anski, directed by André Marcovici Bichon by Jean de Létraz, with Pierre Bertin Le Gâteau des Rois by Marcelle Capron 1947: Of Mice and Men adaptation by Marcel Duhamel after John Steinbeck, directed by Paul Œttly 1947: L'amour vient en jouant by Jean Bernard-Luc, directed by Pierre-Louis 1947: Des hommes viendront, a play by Roger Saltel 1948: The Lame Devil by Sacha Guitry, directed by the author 1948: La Savetière prodigieuse after Federico García Lorca, directed by Pierre Bertin 1948: Joyeux Chagrins after Noël Coward, adaptation André Roussin and Pierre Gay, directed by Louis Ducreux 1948: Shéhérazade by Jules Supervielle, directed by Jean Vilar, Festival d'Avignon 1948: Les Enfants d'Édouard by Frederic Jackson and Roland Bottomley, adaptation Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon, directed by Jean Wall La Huitième Femme de Barbe-Bleue by Charlton Andrews, adaptation Alfred Savoir 1949: Le Silence de la mer after Vercors, directed by Jean Mercure 1949: A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, adaptation Jean Cocteau, directed by Raymond Rouleau 1950: Cabrioles by Roger Ferdinand 1950: Time Runs by Orson Welles after Faust by Dante, Milton, Christopher Marlowe, directed by the author 1950: The Blessed and the damned and The Unthinking Lobster by Orson Welles, directed by the author 1950: Poof by Armand Salacrou, directed by Yves Robert 1950: Pourquoi pas moi by Armand Salacrou, directed by Jacques Dumesnil 1950: Le Château du carrefour by Odette Joyeux 1951: L'Ile heureuse by Jean-Pierre Aumont, directed by Pierre Dux 1951: Ce monde n'est pas fait pour les anges by Pascal Bastia 1951: Tapage nocturne by Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon, directed by Jean Wall
1951: Elizabeth Hijar 1951: The Innocents by William Archibald, directed by Roland Piétri 1951: Ombre chère by Jacques Deval, directed by the author 1953: Demeure chaste et pure by George Axelrod, adaptation Jacques Deval, directed by Jacques Deval 1954: Souviens-toi mon amour by André Birabeau, directed by Pierre Dux 1955: Il y a longtemps que je t'aime by Jacques Deval, directed by Jean Le Poulain 1955: Isabelle et le pélican by Marcel Franck, mise en scène Marc Camoletti 1955: Témoin à charge by Agatha Christie, directed by Pierre Valde 1955: Le Système deux by Georges Neveux, directed by René Clermont 1955: Fric-Frac by Édouard Bourdet, 1955: La Cuisine des anges by Albert Husson, directed by Christian-Gérard 1955: Zamore by Georges Neveux, directed by Henri Soubeyran 1956: La Nuit du 4 août by Albert Husson, directed by Christian-Gérard 1956: Le mari ne compte pas by Roger-Ferdinand, directed by Jacques Morel 1957: Une femme trop honnête by Armand Salacrou, directed by Georges Vitaly 1957: Le monsieur qui a perdu ses clefs by Michel Perrin, directed by Raymond Gérôme
1958: Raymond Rouleau 1958: Oncle Otto by Jacques Mauclair, directed by the author 1958: Nous entrerons dans la carrière by René Catroux, directed by Raymond Rouleau 1958: Virage dangereux by John Boynton Priestley, directed by Raymond Rouleau
1958: Claude Génia Starting in 1958, Claude Génia becomes responsible for the theatre and introduces new notable plays such as L'Année du bac, Jours heureux, Bonheur, impair et passe... and a new generation of actors like Sami Frey, Francis Nani, Jacques Perrin, Roger Dumas, Juliette Gréco, Daniel Gélin, Michel de Ré, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Marthe Mercadier, Jean Le Poulain... 1958: Lady Godiva by Jean Canolle, directed by Michel de Ré 1958: L'Enfant du dimanche by Pierre Brasseur, directed by Pierre Valde 1958: L'Année du bac by José-André Lacour, directed by Yves Robert 1960: Carlota by Miguel Mihura, adaptation Emmanuel Robles, directed by Jacques Mauclair 1960: De doux dingues by Michel André after Joseph Carole, directed by Jean Le Poulain 1961: Huit Femmes by Robert Thomas, a remake of which was later realised by the film director François Ozon, Huit Femmes, directed by Jean Le Poulain 1962: Bichon by Jean de Létraz, directed by Jean Meyer 1963: Sémiramis by Marc Camoletti, directed by Michel de Ré 1963: L'Âge idiot by Jean Meyer, directed by Maurice Guillaud 1964: Bonheur, impair et passe by Françoise Sagan, directed by the author with Claude Régy 1964: Tim by Pol Quentin after Paul Osborn, directed by Jacques-Henri Duval 1964: Diary of a Madman by Nikolai Gogol, directed by François Perrot and Roger Coggio 1964: Le Deuxième Coup de feu by Robert Thomas, directed by Pierre Dux 1965: Pourquoi pas Vamos by Georges Conchon, directed by Jean Mercure 1965: Les Bargasses by Marc'O, directed by the author 1965: La Nuit de Lysistrata by Aristophanes, directed by Gérard Vergez 1965: Les Filles by Jean Marsan, directed by Jean Le Poulain 1965: Chat en poche by Georges Feydeau, directed by Jean-Laurent Cochet 1966: Faust by Christopher Marlowe, directed by Jean-Louis Andrieux
1966: Wilfrid Dodd In 1967, Francis Veber presents his first play L'Enlèvement. Simone Valère and Jean Desailly play Double Jeu by Robert Thomas before Robert Lamoureux and Françoise Rosay introduce La Soupière, a comedy. Claude Dauphin is Shylock in The Merchant of Venice adaptation Thierry Maulnier before Elvire Popesco again plays La Mamma by André Roussin.
1966: Ange pur by Gaby Bruyère, directed by Francis Joffo 1966: Seule dans le noir by Frédéric Knott, adaptation Raymond Castans, directed by Raymond Rouleau 1966: La Polka des lapins by Tristan Bernard, directed by Nicole Anouilh 1967: Xavier by Jacques Deval, directed by Jacques-Henri Duval 1967: Frédéric by Robert Lamoureux, directed by Pierre Mondy 1968: Des enfants de cœur by François Campaux, directed by Christian-Gérard 1968: L'Amour propre by Marc Camoletti, directed by the author 1968: L'Enlèvement by Francis Veber, directed by Jacques Fabbri 1969: Voyage à trois by Jean de Létraz, directed by Robert Manuel 1969: L'Assassinat de Sister George by Franck Marcus, adaptation Jean Cau, directed by Andréas Voutsinas, 1969: Les Garçons de la bande by Mart Crowley, directed by Jean-Laurent Cochet
1970: Robert Thomas 1970: The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, directed by Marcelle Tassencourt 1970: Double Jeu by Robert Thomas, directed by Jacques Charon 1971: Le Train de l'aube by Tennessee Williams, directed by Jean-Pierre Laruy 1971: La Soupière by Robert Lamoureux, directed by Francis Joffo and Robert Lamoureux 1971: Piège pour un homme seul by Robert Thomas, directed by Jacques Charon 1972: En avant... toute ! by Michel André, directed by Michel Roux 1974: La Mamma by André Roussin, directed by the author