Theatre Alfred Jarry
The Theatre Alfred Jarry was founded in January 1926 by Antonin Artaud with Robert Aron and Roger Vitrac, in Paris, France. It was influenced by Surrealism, Theatre of the Absurd and the work of Alfred Jarry. It was foundational to Artaud's theory of the Theatre of Cruelty. Though short-lived, productions were attended by an enormous range of European artists, including Arthur Adamov, André Gide, and Paul Valéry.:249
Foundation
The theatre was a "collaborative project" between Antonin Artaud, Robert Aron and Roger Vitrac that "emerged from collective interests.":77 They named the theatre after Alfred Jarry, "a key figure in the French avant-garde known for his aggressive and biting satire of bourgeois social mores", best known for his play Ubu Roi.:77Productions
Between June 1927 and January 1929, the Theatre Alfred Jarry staged seven productions over four seasons.:77 They did not have a regular space or company, which changed depending on what was available.:78
The theatre advertised that they would produce Artaud's play Jet de sang in their 1926–1927 season, but it was never mounted and was not premiered until 40 years later.
Season 1
- Théâtre de Grenelle :33
- *Antonin Artaud's Ventre brûlé; ou La Mère folle
- **Maxime Jacob
- **Edmond Beauchamp
- **René Bruyez
- **Max Joly
- **Laurent Zacharie
- **Yvonne Vibert :254
- *Robert Aron's Gigogne
- **René Lefèvre
- **Geymond Vital
- **Yvonne Vibert
- **Edmond Beuchamp
- **Max Joly, Ulric Straram, Laurent Zacharie, René Bruyez :254
- *Roger Vitrac's ''Les Mystères de l’amour ''
Season 2
- Comédie des Champs-Élysées :34
- *Vsevolod Pudovkin's Mother
- *Act III of Paul Claudel's Le Partage de midi
- **Génica Athanasiou, Ysé :256
Season 3
- Théâtre de L'Avenue, :33
- *August Strindberg's A Dream Play
- **Antonin Artaud
- **Tania Balachova
- **Auguste Boverio
- **Étienne Decroux
- **Raymond Rouleau
- **Yvonne Save
- **Edmond Beauchamp
- **Maxime Fabert
- **Ghita Luchaire
- **Ulric Straram
- **Laurent Zacharie
Season 4
- Comédie des Champs-Élysées :34
- *Roger Vitrac's Victor; ou, Le pouvoir aux les enfants
- **Marc Darnault
Notable Members
- Antonin Artaud - Founder, writer and creative director.
- Robert Aron - Founder, producer for first three seasons.
- Roger Vitrac - Founder and writer.
- Yvonne Allendy - Treasurer. Madame Allendy also took up the role of the creation of promotional materials, such as posters and invitations.
- René Allendy - Investor. Monsieur Allendy was a friend of Artaud, and took interest in his work. Allendy and his wife raised 3,000 francs as an initial investment for its first season.
Actors
The following actors performed at TAJ::43- Genica Athanasiou
- Tania Balachova
- Edmond Beauchamp
- Andre Berley
- Jeanne Bernard
- Domenica Blazy
- Auguste Boverio
- René Bruyez
- Henri Cremieux
- Max Dalban
- Dalle
- Marc Darnault
- Etienne Decroux
- Maxime Fabert
- Edith Farnese Gilles
- Jacqueline Hopstein
- Max Joly
- Elizabeth Lannay
- René Lefèvre
- Robert Le Flon
- Ghita Luchaire
- Jean Mamy
- Germaine Ozier
- Alexandra Pecker
- Raymond Rouleau
- Sarantidis
- Yvonne Save
- Ulric Straram
- Yvonne Vibert
- Geymond Vital
- De Vos
- Laurent Zacharie