In 1956, the Théâtre de l’Alliance Française, under the name of Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, opened on Boulevard Raspail, in the heart of the legendary Montparnasse-Saint-Germain-des-Prés district.
During the opening gala, the whole of Paris came to sit on the 465 seats in the theatre. Among the attendees were great names such as Albert Camus and Danielle Mitterrand.
From the moment it opened, the theatre was a great triumph, hosting performances of all kinds, and in 1958 the famous Serge Gainsbourg performed one of the only concerts recorded there with his father. Later on, artists such as Coluche would walk the stage of this mythical place.
During all its years of activity, the theatre was bathed in the intellectual effervescence of young students from all over the world who came to learn the French language and immerse themselves in its culture at the Alliance Française de Paris.
In spite of its success, the theatre had to close in 1975 for a complete overhaul. It did not reopen until 1982 to host the Maison des Cultures du Monde association, which organised numerous shows, meetings and conferences.
A real living place, the theatre offers an innovative and modern programme all year round, but above all it is open to the world. This includes major Parisian institutions such as the Jazz Festival in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, which has held many unique concerts there since 2011.
In 2015, the theatre was again forced to close its doors for renovations and only reopened in 2017 with a new edition of the Festival de l’imaginaire.
Since then, in addition to theatrical performances, the theatre has frequently hosted receptions, shows, conferences, meetings with some of the Prix Goncourt winners, debates, symposiums, seminars, greeting ceremonies… And, for many years, the public recordings of the famous France Inter programme Le Masque et la plume.
Finally, 2023 will see the return of the Festival Jazz à Saint-Germain-des-Prés Paris in the theatre of the Alliance Française.