Jean Vilar, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetJean Vilar
French theatre director and actor
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Sète, Occitania, France
About Jean Vilar
- Jean Vilar (25 March 1912, Sète, Hérault – 28 May 1971, Sète, Hérault) was a French actor and theatre director.Vilar trained under actor and theatre director Charles Dullin, then toured with an acting company throughout France.
- His directorial career began in 1943 in a small theatre in Paris.
- In 1947, he accepted an invitation to direct the first annual drama festival at Avignon. Frustrated with what he felt was the narrow élitist horizons of the theatre, he devoted himself to creating a "people's theatre" and became a dominant force in the decentralization of theatre.
- He created two major theatrical institutions, the Festival d'Avignon and the Théâtre National Populaire.
- His policy was to make theatre accessible to the greatest possible number of people. Like Paul Valery, he is buried in the Cimetiere Marin, Sete.
- On 18 July 1979 the theatre department of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the city of Avignon and the Association Jean Vilar opened the Maison Jean-Vilar in the Hôtel de Crochans in Avignon to further Vilar's work, the Festival d'Avignon, the 'OFF' and theatre and performance in Avignon and the surrounding region.
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