About Venue
The National Theater was inaugurated on August 12, 1900. The first professional French-speaking theater, the project of theatre man Julien Daoust was quickly taken over by Georges Gauvreau, a visionary and cultured restaurateur from the neighborhood. With actor Paul Cazeneuve, Mr. Gauvreau presented the great hits of Broadway, Quebecized to attract French-speaking customers. The National Theater will therefore offer large productions dedicated to Montcalm, Jos Montferrand, De Lorimier, etc.
But the public also likes to laugh and Le National will become a privileged place of Quebec humor, giving way to musical reviews posing an insolent commentary on the news, punctuated by songs and sketches. For several decades, the National Theater will therefore house the greatest artists of Quebec burlesque and melodrama: in particular Tizoune father, Juliette Pétrie, Grimaldi, etc. Rose Ouellette - La Poune - will also be director of the National Theater from 1936 to 1953. Historica Canada produced a short video on this period of Rose Ouellette's career: https://youtu.be/qXw3UHrmo5E
The arrival of television in homes in the mid-1950s hurt the establishment. The National Theater will be converted in turn into a neighborhood cinema, a Chinese cinema, then a gay one from the 60s to the 80s.
In 1997, the venue gradually resumed its vocation. La Compagnie Larivée Cabot Champagne took over management in February 2006 and to this day, continues to promote artists from here and elsewhere. Since then, the venue has hosted, among others: Suzie Arioli, 30 Seconds to Mars, Ariane Moffatt, Caribou, Chromeo, Cœur de Pirate, Daniel Lemire, David Usher, Devendra Banhart, Duran Duran, the screening of the film Miroir Noir d'Arcade Fire , Habib Koité, Half Moon Run, Keren Ann, KRS One, Mistress Barbara, Mumford and Sons, Robert Charlebois, Simple Plan, Steve Earle, Vampire Weekend, Vincent Vallières, X Ambassadors ... and more!
Festival International Nuits d'Afrique, Festival du Monde Arabe de Montreal, Just for Laughs and Pop Montreal have also presented editions of their events at Le National over the years.
Télé-Québec’s Belle et Bum, which will debut its 19th television season in fall 2021, has been filmed on location since 2011.
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