Founded in 1982 by Vicky Messica, the Théâtre des Déchargeurs risks closing its doors at the start of the school year in September. The forty companies scheduled for the start of next season learned at the end of July that their shows were likely to be canceled. Adrien Grassard, who runs the place with two 95-seat performance halls and two rehearsal studios, told several actors by way of explanation that a real estate group had bought the building, near Les Halles, which houses the structure.
“Negotiations are underway with the Holfim company to vacate the premises before the end of the lease, which runs until 2025”, confirm several sources familiar with the matter. The building of 1,700 m2 in total is due to undergo a complete restructuring by the end of the year. Contacted, the director of the place, Adrien Grassard, in connection with the promoter, indicated to the Point that he was going to publish a press release to reassure the thirteen employees of the structure about their future.
For now, they fear a closure of the structure during the summer. The theater’s programming manager, Rémi Prin, posted on social media that “several meetings have been held with the director to request clarification on the future of the venue and the conditions for [their] dismissal if he were to take place. [Their] questions have remained unanswered to this day.” Producer and director Laetitia Grimaldi also expressed her concern on Twitter.
We learned a few months ago that the building where the Unloaders are located has been bought by a new owner / promoter (Holfilm) and that the latter is in the process of negotiating with our director for the early closure of the place.
The real estate group confirms, on its website, the acquisition of the entire mansion located at 3, rue des Déchargeurs. Jérôme Bennarrouche, president of Holfim, on the other hand, vigorously denies threatening the existing theater. “We are committed to the presence of a cultural place on site and if the activity of the current theater were to cease, we would do everything we can to ensure that a performance business is maintained in the premises. Because our project is not exclusively financial and the vision we have includes an artistic concern,” he says. As proof of his good faith, the CEO declares that he wants to speak with the town hall of Paris on the subject. The elected official in charge of Culture, also approached, has not yet responded to our request for an interview at the time of publication of these lines.
This real estate development concerns a heritage site in the capital. The facade of the building is, in fact, classified as a historic monument since 1925 because the building was built in 1708 by the wife of an adviser to Louis XIV, Marie Orceau, widow Rouillé. “At that date, the building consisted simply of a building on the street, another at the back of the courtyard, and finally, a small wing building surmounted by a terrace. In the first half of the 18th century, the house was enlarged and embellished, but there was hardly any mention of the garden anymore. Two terraces now face each other, one of them is decorated with a trellis,” reads the Mérimée notice issued by the Ministry of Culture.
Nothing remains today of the beautiful decorated dining room, located on the site of the theater built in the building in 1979. But it is not the founders of the theater who are responsible for it. During the 19th century, the building, which until then had belonged to the nobility of the robe, passed into the hands of wealthy merchants who transformed the premises into shops. The beautiful staircase dating from the reign of Louis XVI was classified in 2001 at the request of the Department of Architecture and Heritage to prevent it from being disfigured by the installation of an elevator.
