The Theatre

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Presentation

The theatre in Sainte-Pazanne is an old tradition. 

A long-standing tradition 

A pastoral play was performed in 1848 in front of the Calvary at La Marche and beneath the Hunaudais market hall. At the start of the 20th century, recreational performances began to appear. These mainly consisted of short plays, sketches and songs.

Subsequently, performances took place in the Asile hall at the Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes school for women and in the Toutes-Joies hall at the presbytery for men. Mixed-gender audiences were not permitted until the early 1950s.

In January 1924, the Jeanne d’Arc Hall was inaugurated (hence the former name of the Jeanne d’Arc Theatre). Some 300 people could be seated on benches there to watch a three-act biblical drama: *The Prodigal Son*.


Christ the King 

From 1933 onwards, the illustrious ‘"Christ-Roi" (Christ the King) took up residence there.
Sainte-Pazanne owes part of its regional fame to this theatrical production and its exceptional longevity. To this day, it has always been performed by local residents.

At that time, the parish priest of Sainte-Pazanne, Father Victorien Portier (1893–1969), approached Paul Greslé (1902–1994), a chemical engineer from Trignac who had recently moved to the village following his marriage. He was passionate about theatre and proposed staging a play he had written himself on the Passion of Christ, which had been performed in Trignac in 1930 and 1931, and which he decided to rework.
A theatre troupe was then formed. The magic of this production, entitled ‘Le Christ-Roi’, took hold immediately.

The first performance of *Christ the King* took place at the Jeanne d’Arc Hall on 15 January 1933.

Taking turns, and depending on their availability, the local residents act out the key scenes from the history of the Catholic Church.
This production is a religious revue comprising some thirty scenes in three parts.
The play notably includes several episodes from the last days of Christ’s life: the trial before Pontius Pilate, the procession through Jerusalem, the crucifixion on Mount Golgotha and the Resurrection.

Several performances are scheduled each year.
One performance was even broadcast, in excerpts and live, on Rennes-Bretagne radio on 17 April 1935.

The Jeanne d’Arc Theatre was refurbished in 1956 to accommodate 700 people. It also served as a cinema until 1969.


A new theatre 

In 2017, the local council acquired the theatre from the Catholic institution, the diocese and the parish. It commissioned a complete refurbishment in 2019/2020 (upgrading to current standards, improving accessibility, reorganisation, etc.)

In October 2021, the refurbished theatre reopened its doors following this facelift. It can now accommodate 432 audience members and has been renamed.
The theatre is now called the Théâtre Municipal Pazenais (TMP) and offers a rich and varied programme.


 An added bonus: you can find the full programme in the ‘Events’ section of the Destination Pornic website.

Information

• PERIOD OF SITE OR HISTORIC MONUMENT :
  • 20th century
• DETAILS FOR CIVIL ARCHITECTURE :
  • House / Picturesque house
• Geographical zone :
  • Sainte-Pazanne

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