Copeau, Jacques

Copeau, Jacques (1878-1949), French actor, theatre critic, director, and producer, born in Paris. He was drama critic for several periodicals, including the influential La Nouvelle Revue Française (1912-1914, New French Review). In 1913 he founded the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in Paris; his experimental theories and productions made him a major theatrical influence for several decades. Copeau introduced poetic, stylized productions, asserting that staging should serve the text, not overshadow it, as was the tendency of both the realistic and the avant-garde theatre of the time. He performed as a character actor and wrote several books on theatre. From 1936 to 1941 he was a producer with the Comédie Française, the French national theatre.