ABSTRACT
The best picture we can get of this aspect of the theatre comes from the year 1848. In that year the general economic situation, coupled with the February revolution, depleted theatre audiences to the point that some theatres could not continue. This posed a problem, since a theatre remaining dark for more than three days ran a risk of losing its licence. However, by June of that year the Opéra National (the former Cirque Olympique), the Beaumarchais (opened in 1835 as the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Antoine), the Théâtre Historique and the Ambigu had had to close down. Actors and theatre staff were in dire financial straits, as managements were mostly unable to pay salaries. The number of performances at some of the other theatres had also declined sharply, especially for the months of May and June. Of the suburban theatres, Montmartre was down to ten performances in May and thirteen in June, the Batignolles had three performances in May and seven in June, and Belleville had no performances in May and only three in June. The four summer months, in any case, were what was known as the dead season. A dozen theatre managements banded together in June 1848 and wrote a common appeal to the Minister of the Interior describing their situation and requesting a subsidy.
