page_title: Hôtel de Bourgogne (theatre)
section_title: Early history
hierarchical_section_title: Hôtel de Bourgogne (theatre) / Comédiens du Roi / Early history
caption_attribution_description: English: Setting for Act 5 of Le Martyre de Sainte Catherine, a French play by Jean Puget de la Serre (1600-1665), first produced in 1643 at the Hôtel de Bourgogne
context_page_description: Hôtel de Bourgogne was the name of a former theatre, built in 1548 for the first authorized theatre troupe in Paris, the Confrérie de la Passion. It was located on the rue Mauconseil, on a site that had been part of the residence of the Dukes of Burgundy. The most important French theatre until the 1630s, it continued to be used until 1783.
  The Confrérie performed farce and secular dramas, but lacking great success, began renting the theatre to itinerant acting companies, including Italian commedia dell'arte troupes, who introduced the characters Harlequin and Pantalone, as well as burlesque. In 1628, a French company, the Comédiens du Roi, became permanently established and performed many of the classics of French theatre, including Andromaque and Phèdre by Jean Racine.
  In 1680, the Comédiens du Roi moved to the Guénégaud Theatre, merging with that theatre's resident French troupe to form the Comédie-Française. The Guénégaud's company of Italian actors moved to the now unoccupied Hôtel de Bourgogne and became known as the Comédie-Italienne.
context_section_description: The Comédiens du Roi of Valleran Le Conte and Adrien Talmy arrived in 1599. Because of frequent money problems, Valleran's group could only appear intermittently at the Hôtel de Bourgogne and often toured the provinces. They were particularly associated with the works of Alexandre Hardy. The actor Bellerose joined Valleran's troupe in 1610, but subsequently (1619, 1620) also appeared with other groups in the provinces. The actor Gros-Guillaume joined Valleran in 1610, and became his co-director in 1612. Subsequently Gros-Guillaume became the sole director. From 1615 he worked closely with the actors Gautier-Garguille and Turlupin (also called Belleville). The trio were the preeminent farceurs on the Paris stage until about 1633. From about 1622 Bellerose returned and became an important member of the troupe, succeeding Gros-Guillaume as director upon the latter's death in 1634. Bellerose continued in that position until 1647.
  From about 1622 to 1629 the theatre was shared with a rival troupe patronized by the Prince of Orange. Among its members was the tragedian Montdory. Montdory had previously appeared with Valleran's company in 1612 and would later join with Charles Lenoir in 1634 to found the Théâtre du Marais. The appearances of the Prince of Orange's troupe at the Bourgogne produced conflicts with the Comédiens du Roi, and the latter sometimes resorted to playing outside the theatre, blocking the public from entering to see their competitors. An act of the king's council of 29 December 1629 exclusively installed the Comédiens du Roi at the Bourgogne for three years. Montdory's troupe leased a succession of tennis courts in the Marais until they settled in their final tennis court, the Théâtre du Marais on the rue Vieille-du-Temple, in 1634.
caption: Setting for Act 5 of Le Martyre de Sainte Catherine by Jean Puget de la Serre, first produced in 1643 at the Hôtel de Bourgogne and a possible example of the use of the théâtre supérieur[4]
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