About us

General presentation

La Colline is one of the five national theatres dedicated to drama which are entirely supported by the French Ministry of Culture.  Its status as a national theatre mandates that its mission is to promote contemporary works, hence La Colline mainly stages works of the twentieth and twenty-first century. La Colline is directed by author and stage director Wajdi Mouawad whose project focuses on hospitality and a wider access to the theatre for today’s youth.

La Colline – théâtre national is the latest of the five French national theatres with La Comédie Française, L'Odéon, the Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris and the TNS in Strasbourg. It is one of the most important cultural institutions located in the East of Paris.

The place

La Colline has two venues, the “Grand Théâtre” which has a maximum capacity of 700 seats and the “Petit Théâtre” an adaptable room of 200 seats. The theatre also has a construction workshop as well as, rehearsal rooms. Over 15 shows are presented every year. La Colline has 80 permanent employees and hires about 300 extra persons during the season, mainly artists (actors, musicians, stage directors, set directors, etc.) and technicians.

Activity

About a dozen productions are presented each season in the two theatres including 3 to 4 home-productions, several co-productions with theatre companies and a few shows produced by theatre companies welcomed by La Colline, some of which are presented in their original language with French subtitles. Between 250 and 300 performances are presented each season, often followed by provincial tours. The annual attendance oscillates between an audience of 80 000 and
100 000.

The team

La Colline has 80 permanent employees and intermittently employs about 250 persons over the season, mainly artists (actors, musicians, stage directors, set designers, costume designers, etc.) and stage technicians.

Main Theatre

Many different layouts are possible in this room, but the one that is mostly used is the amphitheatre (35% gradient) that has a maximum capacity of 740 seats. A smaller version with panels is also possible (approximately 500 seats), as well as an arena configuration. The dimensions of the stage frame are: a maximum opening of 19m (22m wall to wall), 8,46 m height, 17,5m under the grid and approximately 10m depth.

Small Theatre

It is a multi-purpose theatre with a maximum capacity of 200 seats, situated on the 2nd floor of the building, 10m above street level, and which has removable tiers of seats (33% gradient). The dimensions of the room are: 16,6m length, 13,6m width and 5,98m height.