Théâtre de la Libé

The Théâtre des Variétés-Amusantes was a Parisian theatre that no longer exists, inaugurated on April 12, 1779, at the corner of Rue de Lancry and Rue de Bondy in the 10th arrondissement.

In 1778, Louis Lécluze, a former actor at the Opéra-Comique and a dental surgeon, opened a theatre at the Saint-Laurent fair before transferring it to Boulevard Saint-Martin. Unable to meet the costs generated by this new venture, Lécluze ceded his theatre and troupe to three former Opera dancers, Fierville fils, Malter, and Hamoir, as well as to the financier Jean-Nicolas Le Mercier (d), on condition that they: pay Lécluze's debts, which amounted to 44,822 livres, 11 sols, 8 deniers, grant him an annual pension of 4,000 livres, give him a special bonus whenever Le Postillon, a play he had composed and in which he excelled as an actor, was performed, and finally, pay François Bigottini, who had initially been led to hope for the directorship, compensation of 6,000 livres. Once the agreement between Lécluze and the associates was concluded, they took possession of the hall on Rue de Bondy, which they opened on April 12, 1779. Despite the change of management and name, the public hardly gave the Variétés any other name than “le spectacle de l’Écluse”. The repertoire, diversified and well-performed, attracted a large audience.

Dorvigny wrote several plays for them, including Janot ou les Battus paient l'amende (June 11, 1779), which enjoyed considerable popularity.

In 1784, the directors were dispossessed of their privilege by a decree of the Conseil d'État in favour of Gaillard and Dorfeuille, following a complaint from the Académie royale de Musique. The new directors moved the theatre to the Palais-Royal and opened their new show on January 1, 1785, under the name Variétés du Palais-Royal.

Substituting comedies for the farces played until then, the entrepreneurs welcomed Monvel and Julie Candeille.

Then, in 1791, following the split among the actors of the Comédie-Française, Talma, Dugazon, and Mme Vestris arrived.

The theatre then changed its name to Théâtre-Français de la rue Richelieu. In 1792, it changed its name again and became the Théâtre de la République. In 1799, the new government installed the Comédie-Française there. It is still located there.

The hall on the boulevard, meanwhile, was destroyed. The Théâtre des Jeunes-Artistes was built on its site in 1790.

At the Palais-Royal, the theatre had a café-caveau whose underground rooms extended the entire length of the glass gallery up to the Chevet house. This café-caveau would become very popular during the First Empire and the early years of the Restoration.