1963-1983

FROM THE THEATER ENSEMBLE
TO THE nationalDRAMA CENTER

Bernard Sobel moved to Gennevilliers in 1963, and was supported financially by the municipality from the very beginning of his time here.. In December 1963, the town’s communist mayor, Waldeck L’Huillier, inspired by the success of a similar venture in nearby Aubervilliers, asked him to set up a theatre troupe. This was the birth of the Ensemble Théâtral de Gennevilliers.

To start with, Bernard Sobel chose to keep the ensemble at an amateur level, meaning that it relied entirely on the goodwill and passion of the local people, as the actors would have to rehearse every evening after work. In both 1966 and 1967, the municipality organised festivals, and at the same time a new tactic was adopted, in which the ensemble would for one weekend every month engage with the public, creating a more regular rhythm of activity.

The Ensemble Théâtral de Gennevilliers officially went professional on the first of April 1968. Its mission statement was to promote theatrical activity in the growing shift towards a more decentralised arts scene. In the same year, Bernard Sobel was granted the licence to become a theatre entrepreneur, and created a business in his own name to do this. The company’s newly-obtained professional status meant that with the help of the municipality, it would have to find ways of funding its activities.

An agreement, stipulating that the municipality was obliged to pay for one new work per year from the ensemble, was signed in 1968, and the following year, the Ministry of Arts and Culture awarded Sobel a subsidy. A performance of Brecht’s Man equals Man in 1970 marked the group’s first real professional work, but it was not until the 1975-76 season that for the first time in twelve years, the director saw any revenue from his work.

In 1977, the Ensemble Théâtral de Gennevilliers, strengthened by its failures as well as its successes, submitted an appeal to be promoted to the status of a “Centre Dramatique National”, an extremely high accolade which would mean access to enough funding to insure it would stay permanently afloat and continue to create.

The Ensemble’s institutionalisation would pose questions about its political responsibility; if it were to be elevated to this status, it would lose its right to complete creative freedom.

It was only in 1981, when the Théâtre de Gennevilliers was already 15 years old, that Jack Lang, the new Minister of Culture, asked Bernard Sobel to begin preparing for an inauguration as a National theatre in 1983. The decision was part of a new strategy which would promote the decentralisation of theatrical activity.

The theatre attained national status on the 22nd January 1983. Nineteen years after moving to Gennevilliers, Bernard Sobel had finally joined the theatrical mainstream.

Bernard Sobel

biographY

In little more than 40 years, Bernard Sobel and the collective he founded have staged about 90 different plays, over 30 of which were created in France. Diverse and always enlightening, many of these works were authored by little-known writers.

Along with this activity, from 1974 he was also involved in Théâtre/Public, a bi-monthly seminar which analysed and reflected on the very nature of theatre, as well as public initiatives including conferences and lessons open to all.

In addition to this, Sobel has been involved with a lot of musical theatre in Avignon, staging Kuan Han Chin’s Riverside Pavillion, Mario and the Magician (based on the work of Thomas Mann, with music by Jean-Bernard Dartigolles), Come and Go and Not I (Samuel Beckett texts set to music by Heinz Holliger) and Betsy Jolas’s opera Euripide's Cyclop.

He has also been responsible for productions of Cherubini’s The Water Carrier at the Opéra Comique in 1980, Dallapiccola’s Il Prigioniero at the Théâtre Musical de Paris in 1992,  Janacek’s The Excursions of Mr.Broucek in 1993, and in 1994 The Makropoulos Affair by the same composer at the Opéra du Rhin. Most recently in this field, he has staged L'Incoronazione di Poppea at the Opéra de Lyon, under the direction of William Christie.

A Germanophile, Sobel has been involved with a lot of translation work, notably Hitler: A Film about Germany by Hans Jurgen Syberberg (screenplay published by éditions Laffont-Seghers).

Sobel has also worked in television direction, making documentaries on subjects such as the painter and engraver Hogarth, Machiavelli, the Musée du Havre and the Closerie des Lilas. He has also directed several dramas: a version of Holberg’s Jepp of the hills, as well as numerous screenplays written by members of the team at the Théâtre de Gennevilliers. He has also recorded many theatrical performances for both German and French television. In 1996, he directed Citizen Mann, a portrait of Thomas Mann, as part of the series A Century of Writers for France 3.

Productions by Bernard Sobel

1964    Tanker Nebraska by Herb Tank (created in France)
Antigone by Bertholt Brecht
1965    La Farce du poulier (anonymous)
1966    La Farce de Maître Pathelin (anonymous)
Cœur ardent by Alexandre Ostrovski (created in France)
Ruzzante revient de guerre by Beolco
Vietnam une résistance héréditaire (montage)
The Rule and the Exception by Bertholt Brecht
1967    Jepp of the hills  by Ludwig Holberg
Enquête pour un fait divers de Claude Prin (created in France)
Première de cavalerie by Vichnevsky (created in France)
1968    Du millet pour la VIIIème armée by Loo Ding, Chang Fan, Shu Nan (created in
France)
1969    The Beggar’s Opera by John Gay
1970    Philoctète by Heiner Müller (created in France)
California Story by Hanns Eisler and Ernst Ottwald (created in France)
Man equals Man by Bertholt Brecht
1971    Le Candidat de G. Flaubert (created in France)
Timon of Athens by Shakespeare
1972    Madame Legros by Heinrich Mann (created in France)
1973    Round heads and pointed heads by Bertholt Brecht
Dom Juan by Molière
1974    The Tempest by Shakespeare
Der hofmeister by Lenz
1975    Marie by Isaac Babel (created in France)
The Riverside Pavillion by Kuan Han Chin, music : Betsy Jolas, musical direction
: Jean Leber (created inFrance)
1976    The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe (created in France)
1977    Les Paysans based on the work of Balzac (created in France)
Timon of Athens by Shakespeare (performed in German  at the Zurich Theatre)
1978    Maximilien Robespierre by Bernard Chartreux and Jean Jourdheuil (created in France)
Dom Juan and Tartuffe by Molière (performed in German at the Basel Theatre)
1979    Mario et le Magicien based on the work of Thomas Mann, music : Jean-Bernard Dartigolles,
musical direction: Annick Minck (created in France)
1980    The Water Carrier, an opera by Cherubini (Opéra de Paris,
Favart theatre), musical direction: Pierre Dervaux
Come and Go and Not I by Samuel Beckett, music : H. Holliger (Festival d'Avignon –
IRCAM) (created in France)
1981    Edward II by Christopher Marlowe
Downfall of the egotist Jonathan Faltzer by Bertholt Brecht (created in France)

1982    L'Eléphant d'or by Alexandre Kopkov (created in France)
1983    Coriolanus by Shakespeare
Mary Stuart by Schiller (collaboration with la Comédie-Française)
1984    The Broken Jug by Heinrich Von Kleist
Philoctetes by Heiner Müller
Entre chien et loup ou La Véritable Histoire d'Ah Q by Christoph Hein (created in
France)
1985    L'Ecole des femmes by Molière
Nathan the Wise by Lessing (performed in German in Berlin)
1986    Le Cyclope d'Euripide, an opera by Betsy Jolas (performed at the Festival d'Avignon and the Théâtre National de Chaillot)
La Ville by Paul Claudel (performed at the Théâtre des Amandiers de Nanterre)
The Plow and the Stars by Sean O'Casey
1987    Nathan the Wise by Lessing (created in France)
King Lear by Shakespeare (performed in German, at the Zurich Theatre)
1988    Hecuba by Euripides
Les Amis font le philosophe by Lenz (international production)
1989    The Forest by Ostrovski
Les Tu et Toi ou la parfaite égalité de Dorvigny
1990    The Good Soul of Szechouan by Bertholt Brecht
Tartuffe by Molière
1991    The Life of the revolutionary Pelagya Vlassova of Tver, Brecht/Gorki
1992    Il Prigioniero, opera by Luigi Dallapiccola, musical direction: Esa-Pekka Salonen
(performed at the Théâtre Musical de Paris-Châtelet)
The Life and Death of King John by Shakespeare
1993    Maria by Isaac Babel
Cache-cache avec la mort by Mikhaïl Volokhov (international production)
King Lear by Shakespeare
1994    Les Géants de la montagne by Luigi Pirandello
The Excursions of Mr.Broucek and The Makropoulos Affair by Janacek (performed at the 
Opéra du Rhin, Strasbourg and at the Sao Carlos theatre, Lisbon)
1995    Burning Heart by Alexander Ostrovski
1996    Napoléon ou les Cent-Jours by CD Grabbe
1997    Zakat by Isaac Babel (created in France)
Pearls before Swine by Richard Foreman (created in France)
Les Nègres by Jean Genet
1998    Optimistic Tragedy by Vsevolod Vichnevsky
1999    The Tragedy of the rich Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe
Blackout by Roney Brett (international production)
2000    Crave by Sarah Kane et Bad Boy Nietzsche (created in France) by Richard Foreman
The Mandate by Nikolaï Erdman (created in France)
2001    L'Otage by Paul Claudel
Ubu roi by Alfred Jarry
2002    Le Pain dur by Paul Claudel
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
2003    The Innocent Guilty by Alexander Ostrovski (created in France)
Lord Guan goes to the feast by Kuan Han Chin,  (created in France)
and Seven against Thebes by Aeschylus
2004    Man equals Man by Bertolt Brecht. Festival d'Avignon, repeated at Gennevilliers and then produced in Bourges, Lille, Rennes and Amiens
2005    Troilus and Cressida by Shakespeare
2006        Don, mécènes et adorateurs by Alexandre Ostrovski. Translation by André Markowicz
2007     Le mendiant ou la mort by Zand d’Olecha

Films directed for television by Bernard Sobel
(under the name Bernard Rothstein)
1971    L'Opéra de quat'sous at the Musée du Havre (part of the series Vivre aujourd'hui les musées)
1972    Prince Machiavelli (part of the series Les cent livres)
Ivan Illitch (part of the series Un certain regard)
Bertrand de Jouvenel ; Armageddon ; Hogarth ; Le Compagnon (Docudramas by
Patrice Chéreau)
1973    La Closerie des Lilas
Jepp of the hills by Ludwig Holberg
Round Heads and Pointed Heads, by Bertolt Brecht
1974    Le Candidat, by Gustave Flaubert (unedited)
1975    Der Hofmeister, by Jacob Lenz
The Riverside Pavillion, by Kuan Han Chin
Moi, Giordano Bruno le Nolain ou Mourir pour Copernic (part of the series Les chemins de la
découverte), scenario : Michèle Davis, François Rey, Bernard Rothstein
1976    The Playboy of the Western World, by Synge, mise en scène by Brigitte Jaques
Faith, Hope and Charity by Odön von Horvath, mise en scène by Yvon Davis
1978    Un Ennemi du peuple ou Le bonheur que nous vous proposions, screenplay by Michèle
Raoul-Davis
1979    Lulu, opera by Alban Berg inspired by the work of Wedekind, mise en scène by Patrice Chéreau
1980    Maria, by Isaac Babel
Méphisto, inspired by the novel by Klaus Mann, adapted and produced by Ariane
Mnouchkine
1981    Edward II, by Christopher Marlowe
Peer Gynt, by Ibsen, mise en scène by Patrice Chéreau
1982    Golden Elephant, by Alexandre Kopkov
Faust, by Goethe, mise en scène by Klaus-Michael Grüber (filmed for the ZDF)
1984    Lucio Silla, opera by Mozart, mise en scène by Patrice Chéreau
1985    L'Ecole des femmes, by Molière
1986    Bérénice, by Racine, mise en scène by Klaus-Michael Grüber
1987    Nathan the Wise, by G.E. Lessing
1988    L'Indiade, by Hélène Cixous, mise en scène by Ariane Mnouchkine
Hecuba by Euripides
1989    Orestia by Aeschylus
Les Tu et Toi ou la parfaite égalité by Dorvigny
1990    The Good Soul of Szechouan, by Bertolt Brecht
1994    Wozzeck by A. Berg, mise en scène by Patrice Chéreau for Bavarian Television
1996    Citizen Mann, France 3 (part of the series Un Siècle d'écrivains), screenplay by Michèle Raoul-Davis

The tools of the trade

a 'malleable' theatre

Since its foundation, the Ensemble Théâtral de Gennevilliers has been working in the Salle des Grésillons, which was constructed in 1934. With a capacity of around 1500, this auditorium was used for diverse purposes, such as meetings, boxing and other sports, trade conferences and even Christmas concerts. It was, however, unsuited to the Ensemble’s theatrical activities, and in a letter from November 1966, the Theatre’s Friends Association raised this issue with the Municipality. It was not until 1976, however, that the Municipality authorised a redevelopment of the Salle des Grésillons as part of a general renovation of the area. 

The project, allocated to architect Claude Vasconi, was to take in a new space of 180 seats, now named the Philippe Clévenot theatre, which was built as the original room was enlarged by 350 seats, renovated and eventually re-named the Maria Casarès theatre. The scenographic renovation was left in the hands of Noel Napo, and was notable for the construction of a stage of a height of more than 20 metres. This central feature of the two rooms was designed so that it could be used for either bi-frontal performances or independently in either auditorium.

This three-way structure and its planned uses meant that it was necessary to install a double-sided fireproof stage curtain with a height of 8.40 metres and thickness of 16 centimetres. This doubled as a sort of mobile wall, and allowed the two auditoriums to be separated from each other.

The guiding theme of the newly-designated Centre Dramatique National’s staging would be to communicate between the two auditoriums into a central space. This system allows a great deal of flexibility in terms of performing space. Almost any spatial requirement a performance might demand is achievable, and the “malleable theatre” accommodates for all varieties of artistic experimentation.

The Théâtre de Gennevilliers was officially opened with this new layout on 11th October 1986.