Improvidence

Olivier Dubois, who had co-directed Et Compagnie and directed the SPONTANEoUS international improvisation festival in Lyon for three years, opened the Bordeaux venue in February 2018 at 19 rue des Augustins, modelled directly on the Lyon original. The Bordeaux company recruited a local troupe of actors serving simultaneously as writers and directors of their own shows. Since opening, the venue has presented regular public performances and offered free initiation sessions on Fridays, building a new audience for improvisation in southwestern France. The theatre navigated pandemic-era closures alongside the rest of the French performing arts sector before resuming its full programme. It is described as the only theatre in Bordeaux entirely dedicated to improvisation.

Improvidence Bordeaux centers its practice on audience-responsive storytelling, building each performance from spectator suggestions to create unrepeatable one-hour pieces. The school function runs in parallel with the performance programme, treating ensemble building and public accessibility as equally important to the company's identity.