At Theatre Tonight

At Theatre Tonight presented filmed stage productions to a television audience, running from 25 August 1966 until 21 September 1985. Each episode captured a play performed before a live audience, with crews recording over two or three days at the Théâtre Marigny on the Champs-Élysées and occasionally at the Théâtre Édouard VII. The show mixed comic and dramatic pieces, letting viewers see intact theatrical performances rather than heavily edited adaptations. Episodes tended to be self-contained, showcasing the actors, set design, and stage direction while keeping the theatrical tempo and audience reactions intact. It was more about performances and stagecraft than serialized storytelling.

Created and produced by Pierre Sabbagh, the series began in 1966 and continued through the mid 1980s. Productions were not studio plays, they were filmed during public performances at notable Parisian theaters, preserving live theatrical energy for television viewers.

The program helped widen access to theater, bringing plays to people who couldn’t attend performances in Paris. By archiving stage works on television, it contributed to a tradition of broadcast theater and encouraged later efforts to film plays for wider audiences. It became a reference point for televised stage productions in France, especially for preserving performance styles of the period.

Critical and viewer responses varied, reflected in a modest online rating of 6.7 out of 10 from a small sample of votes. Reviewers tended to praise the integrity of the performances and the authentic stage atmosphere, while noting the limitations of filming live theater for TV, such as camera placement and sound constraints. The series regularly presented themes of interpersonal conflict, social manners, and comic misunderstanding, with emphasis on actors’ craft.

There are no widely recorded major international awards associated with the series. It was respected within French theater and television circles for making stage work available to a broader public, though detailed records of regional or national recognitions are sparse.