Jean Vilar

Jean Vilar (25 March 1912, Sète, Hérault – 28 May 1971, Sète, Hérault) was a French actor and theatre director.[1]

Jean Vilar
Jean Vilar (right) in Festival d'Avignon 1967 with Antoine Bourseiller (left), and François Billetdoux.
Born25 March 1912
Sète, Hérault, France
Died28 May 1971 (1971-05-29) (aged 59)
Sète, Hérault, France
OccupationActor and director

Vilar trained under actor and theatre director Charles Dullin, then toured with an acting company throughout France. His directorial career began in 1943 in a small theatre in Paris. In 1947, he accepted an invitation to direct the first annual drama festival at Avignon.

Frustrated with what he felt was the narrow élitist horizons of the theatre, he devoted himself to creating a "people's theatre" and became a dominant force in the decentralization of theatre. He created two major theatrical institutions, the Festival d'Avignon and the Théâtre National Populaire. His policy was to make theatre accessible to the greatest possible number of people.

Like Paul Valery, he is buried in the Cimetiere Marin, Sete. On 18 July 1979 the theatre department of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the city of Avignon and the Association Jean Vilar opened the Maison Jean-Vilar in the Hôtel de Crochans in Avignon to further Vilar's work, the Festival d'Avignon, the 'OFF' and theatre and performance in Avignon and the surrounding region.[2]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1946Gates of the NightLe clochard / La fortune
1947The Sharks of GibraltarPercy Carters
1948Les frères BouquinquantLe prêtre
1948Carrefour du crimeInspecteur Dominique
1948BagarresL'innocent
1949Les eaux troublesUlysse
1949La ferme des sept péchésL'homme gris / Grey man
1950Thirst of MenLe typographe
1950Justice Is DoneLe prêtre à l'imprimerie
1951Pirate SubmarineSubmarine Commandant Jean L'Herminier
1951Les mousquetaires du roi
1952JocelynLe supérieur du nouveau séminaire
1956Les Aventures de Till L'EspiègleLe duc d'Albe
1958Arènes joyeuses
1961EnclosureNarratorVoice
1969Des Christs par milliersJean
1971Raphael, or The Debauched OneHorace
1971Le petit matinPaul(final film role)

References
  1. Drain, Richard (1995) Twentieth-Century Theatre: A Sourcebook, Routledge
  2. http://maisonjeanvilar.org/

Other sources
  • Bardot, Jean Claude (1991) Jean Vilar. Paris: Colin.
  • Shevtsova, Maria (2005) Jean Vilar in Fifty Key Theatre Directors, eds Mitter, S., & In Shevtsova, M., Routledge
  • Téphany, J., & Barthes, R. (1995). Jean Vilar. Paris: Editions de l'Herne.
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