Le Conservatoire

First permanent French theatre company in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1887 by Frenchman Paul Larcher and his wife, of Swiss origin (who arrived in Canada in 1885), in a tiny theatre in what is now Old Montreal.

Their first work, Jean Le Cocher, was performed February 19 with Mme Larcher starring. The company went on to perform melodrama, comedy and vaudeville and changed names several times (Le Cercle Labiche and Le Bijou-théâtre des familles canadiennes among others). It was also where Blanche de la Sablonnière ("the Canadian Sarah Bernhardt") made her début in Marie Jeanne ou la femme du peuple.

Last updated 2003-01-28

Since October 2002, Athabasca University has hosted the web site, with an editorial board of theatre scholars from across Canada.

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Email your submission to: Anne Nothof, Professor Emerita, Athabasca University.

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The Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia web site was originally conceived and developed in 1996 by Gaetan Charlebois—theatre critic, playwright, and actor.