How a penniless student sleeping on a theatre prop became a French acting legend
In short: Before he became an icon of the French stage and screen, Jean-Louis Barrault was a struggling student who slept on a prop bed in the theatre where he trained. His journey from poverty to directing the Théâtre de France defined the trajectory of twentieth-century European performance and mime.
Born in Le Vésinet in 1910, Barrault lost his pharmacist father during the First World War. His formal education at the Collége Chaptal ended in 1930, leading him to the École du Louvre. However, his true education began in 1931 at Charles Dullin’s L’Atelier. During these formative years, his financial situation was so dire that he lacked the funds for housing, forcing him to spend his nights sleeping on the bed used for the production of Volpone.
It was within the walls of L’Atelier that Barrault encountered Étienne Decroux. Their collaboration in 1931 on the pantomime La Vie Primitive marked the beginning of a lifelong fascination with movement. This dedication to physical expression eventually propelled him to the Comédie-Française, where he served from 1942 to 1946, tackling demanding lead roles in classics like Hamlet and Le Cid. His cinematic legacy was cemented in 1945 with his portrayal of the mime Jean-Gaspard Deburau in the celebrated film Les Enfants du Paradis.
In 1946, Barrault and his wife, the actress Madeleine Renaud, established the Compagnie Renaud-Barrault at the Théâtre Marigny. Their partnership became a cornerstone of French theatre, leading to extensive international tours. Barrault’s influence expanded further when he took the helm of the Théâtre de France in 1959, a position he held for a decade. Even after his 1971 appointment to the Théâtre des Nations, he remained a central figure in the arts until his retirement in 1990.
Barrault’s impact extended beyond his own performances; he was a mentor and sponsor to figures like Peter Brook and the uncle of actress Marie-Christine Barrault. By the time he passed away in Paris in 1994 at the age of 83, he had appeared in nearly 50 films and left an indelible mark on the craft of acting. He is interred alongside his wife at the Passy Cemetery.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Jean-Louis Barrault
- Also: Art Institute of Chicago — Jean-Louis Barrault · CC0 (data); description CC BY 4.0
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