Théâtre La Bruyère

In 1943, at the height of the German occupation, what was only an abandoned conference room was transformed into an avant-garde theater under the leadership of two young actors, Georges Herbert and Paquita Claude. Paquita Claude, a great resistance fighter, took advantage of the place to hide many people in the cellar. For the record, during recent renovation work, we discovered a rifle dating from this period, walled up in the basement. The two actors named this place “Théâtre La Bruyère”, from the name of the street which shelters it. Very quickly this new room became essential, particularly in 1948, when the success of Robert Dhéry's play, Les Branquignols, reinforced this new place and gave it its claim to fame. In 1954, Georges Vitaly took over as artistic director of the La Bruyère theater, owned by Ludmilla Vlasto. He enlarged it, had the balcony built, and arranged the stage. The theater more or less resembles what it is today.