Théâtre 140

Founded by Jo Dekmine, Théâtre 140 opened its doors in the autumn of 1963.

The public discovered Serge Gainsbourg, Dimitri le clown d'Ascona, Roland Dubillard's Naïves Hirondelles, Ferré, Barbara and those British Rubbish who marked the aesthetics of the 140 before the Grand Magic Circus and the psychodrama Maman, j'ai peur written and performed by Jacques Higelin, Brigitte Fontaine and Rufus a few years later.

The following year, the interminable conspiracy with the Living Theater of New York and the Bread and Puppet began. And then Pink Floyd, Zappa, Yes, Soft Machine, Talking Heads, Johnny Rotten with Public Image Ltd., not forgetting Thelonious Monk, Michel Petrucciani, Bobby McFerrin, Claude Nougaro, William Sheller, Arthur H, Dick Annegarn... But also the Café de la Gare impros with Patrick Dewaere, Romain Bouteille and others. The New York underground scene was also present on the Schaerbeek stage. It was a time of great friendship with La Mama from New York and then the Playhouse of Ridiculous from New York (71), which was the subject of a lawsuit...

During the 1970s, Jo Dekmine liked to say "Theatre 140 is a fairground shack", in reference to this desire to be open and different from the classical theatrical landscape, which was still in the majority at the time. With a desire to be a place for foreign troupes and artists, or at least not specific to the Belgian French-speaking world, the 140 has hosted productions by Peter Brooke, Joël Pommerat and Tadeusz Kantor and his Dead Class, which has remained in the imagination of every audience member.

Over the years, Le 140 has become a relay for international programming in concerts, theatre and dance. Mathilde Monnier, Josef Nadj, Alain Platel, Georges Appaix, Kazuo Ohno's Bûto, Sankaï Juku and Ariadone have all performed here. Pina Bausch was presented at La Monnaie on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the 140th anniversary of the theatre, and her set did not fit on the theatre stage. Not to mention the humour of Guy Bedos, Zouc and Pierre Desproges.

In September 2015, after 53 busy seasons, Jo Dekmine handed over the reins to her colleague Astrid Van Impe. She is currently the director, continuing the exploration associated with the image of Theatre 140 since its opening.

In June 2017, Theatre 140 became "Le 140", reflecting its multidisciplinary programming. This new name is accompanied by a bold and elegant new graphic charter, designed by Racasse Studio. Doesn't our logo reflect the 1000 faces of Le 140?

For the launch of the 20-21 season, we are working with the graphic design agency Mpoint production and Rebecca Rosen for the illustrations. Great creations to come!