The Théâtre du Peuple at Bussang: A Stage That Opens Onto the Forest
Grand Est, France
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The Théâtre du Peuple at Bussang: A Stage That Opens Onto the Forest
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In 1895 Maurice Pottecher set up an open-air stage on the mountainside at Bussang, in the Vosges, with the audience standing in the meadow. The next year the stage was roofed, and he opened the back of it onto nature with two great sliding doors, so that the forest itself becomes the scenery; wooden benches were built for 2,000 spectators, and the professional actors who came to play were unpaid, living as a community for the month of rehearsal and the month of performance. The sides were enclosed in 1921 and the audience finally roofed in 1924, and the all-wood hall now seats up to 900. It has been a classified monument historique since 2 August 1976, and the summer plays have mixed professionals and amateurs from the start.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Read the motto cut into the fronton of the theatre — « Par l'Art pour l'Humanité » — then walk round to the back of the building to the two great sliding doors Pottecher put in the back of the stage so that the Vosges forest itself becomes the scenery
2
of 5
Inside the hall — built entirely of wood — look up at the vault, shaped like an upturned ship's hull, and compare the 900 seats it takes today with the 2,000 Pottecher's first wooden benches held in the 1890s
3
of 5
Climb through the woods above the village onto the Haut de Taye ridge to the statue of Sainte-Barbe, and pick out the roof of the theatre below you in the valley of the young Moselle
4
of 5
Drive up to the col de Bussang and find the fountain at 731 m that is given out as the source of the Moselle, then look up at the slopes of the Grand Drumont, where the streams that really start the 560 km river rise above 1,000 m
5
of 5
Walk up into the Vosges forest directly behind the stage, the trees that stand in for every set this theatre has ever opened its doors on, then come back down through the meadow in front of it and look at the building from where the standing audience of 1895 would have been
Read the motto cut into the fronton of the theatre — « Par l'Art pour l'Humanité » — then walk round to the back of the building to the two great sliding doors Pottecher put in the back of the stage so that the Vosges forest itself becomes the scenery
Inside the hall — built entirely of wood — look up at the vault, shaped like an upturned ship's hull, and compare the 900 seats it takes today with the 2,000 Pottecher's first wooden benches held in the 1890s
Climb through the woods above the village onto the Haut de Taye ridge to the statue of Sainte-Barbe, and pick out the roof of the theatre below you in the valley of the young Moselle
Drive up to the col de Bussang and find the fountain at 731 m that is given out as the source of the Moselle, then look up at the slopes of the Grand Drumont, where the streams that really start the 560 km river rise above 1,000 m
Walk up into the Vosges forest directly behind the stage, the trees that stand in for every set this theatre has ever opened its doors on, then come back down through the meadow in front of it and look at the building from where the standing audience of 1895 would have been
Before you go
Performances run from May to December, with most of the programme in July and August; there are traditionally none in deep winter, because the house is open at the back and unheated. Book ahead for the summer season.
The theatre is a working company with a new programme every season, so performances sell out and the auditorium is only open to visitors outside rehearsal and show times — check the company's own calendar before planning the day. Evening performances get very cold: bring a coat, a blanket and something waterproof whatever the forecast in the valley.
The outside of the theatre is freely accessible all year. To get inside you need a performance or a guided tour: tours run at 10.30 on Sundays outside the summer season (but not in November or December), on Tuesdays in the French school holidays and on Fridays during the summer season — no booking, but check the tour calendar before setting out. Performances run from May to December, most of them in July and August. Night performances in the wooden hall get very cold; regulars bring sleeping bags.
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Challenge XP
200 XP
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Potential total
300 XP
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