ABSTRACT
On the edge of Paris, the boulevard d’Enfer (boulevard Montparnasse), more remote from an area of dense population than the boulevard du Temple, was a place of popular resort, as were the old customs barriers. A Vauxhall was opened there in the 1770s (this later became the Bal de la Grande Chaumière). SaintFoy mentions a master carpenter called Coffinon, who, in 1772, established a little theatre where farces, parades and plays from
the old Italian repertoire were performed on Sundays and holidays as a form of publicity for his business.1 Coffinon’s theatre was also used by amateur troupes. Eventually he ran into trouble with the police for admitting too many spectators. We have no indication as to the actual size of his theatre, but his licence restricted him to an audience of 600 for ‘comedies bourgeoises’. He ran into financial problems and his theatre was taken over by another alreadyexisting company from Montparnasse. In 1774 a new licence was obtained from the head of the police, Lenoir, who favoured the smaller theatres. The permitted repertoire was still that of the forains: farces, parades, new parodies and old plays ‘a I’ordinaire’ which meant, in this context, pantomimes such as those presented by Nicolet and Audinot. The existence of this theatre was precarious, as it depended on a holiday clientele and was also very much subject to seasonal variation (in winter the boulevard d’Enfer was often deserted). In 1779 this ailing establishment was bought by a provincial director, Darny, and the widow d’Auvillier, director of the ‘petits comédiens du Bois de Boulogne’, another theatre providing entertainment for Parisians out for the day. The term ‘petits comédiens’ suggests a troupe with child actors, which may well have begun as a puppet-theatre. The building, probably a booth constructed in timber, was regarded as unsafe and had to be rebuilt. It was enlarged and had new scenery made. Here, as on the boulevard du Temple, can be seen the development of the fairground booth type of theatre into a more permanent structure. There appears to have been some difficulty in obtaining a licence, since the aim of the directors of this theatre was to offer plays as well as the usual parades and pantomimes. However, the theatre did come into existence. It is mentioned by Brazier as the Théâtre Montparnasse sur le boulevard Neuf in 1794 and 1795. In 1807, together with Belleville, Montmartre and the Ranelagh, it was one of the suburban theatres authorised by Napoleon.
