Bouffes-Parisiens, a theatre on rue Monsigny since 1855

The Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens on rue Monsigny was born in 1855, when Jacques Offenbach moved his young company for the winter into the hall of the magician Louis Comte, opened in 1827 on the passage Choiseul. The Bouffes d’hiver opened on 29 December 1855, and the hall kept the company’s name.

Orphée aux enfers premiered there on 21 October 1858. In 1862 Alphonse Varney had the hall rebuilt by Théodore Ballu. Charles Comte, Offenbach’s son-in-law, staged La Princesse de Trébizonde and La Créole; Audran’s La Mascotte and Les Mousquetaires au couvent followed in 1880.

In 1918 Gustave Quinson launched light operetta with Phi-Phi, then Dédé, by Willemetz and Christiné, starring Maurice Chevalier. Albert Willemetz ran the house alone from 1929 to 1958: Yvonne Printemps, Arletty, Jean Gabin and Michel Simon performed there, and Cocteau staged La Machine infernale. Jean-Claude Brialy directed it from 1986 to 2007.

In the 2nd arrondissement, between rue Monsigny and the passage Choiseul, the theatre now stages comedy and contemporary plays, and works alongside the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin.