Labor performance - Rouen

Abbreviation for Workers' Theatre Association. A nationwide theatre appreciation group for working people. The first was the Tokyo Workers' Theatre Cooperative (the predecessor of Tokyo Rouen) which was formed in 1948 (Showa 23), followed by Osaka Rouen in 1949. Since then, it has spread to cities all over the country, including Kobe, Kyoto, and Aomori, and by 1965 had reached 53 groups and 100,000 members as a major audience organization supporting new theatre performances. Modeled after the German Volksbühne (people's theatre), the organization plans and operates independently with a membership fee system in cooperation with theatre companies. In 1963, the National Liaison Conference of Theatre Appreciation Groups (Zenkoku Rouen) was launched, and it became a nationwide organization with five blocks. Since 1974, the name Rouen has been replaced by names such as Citizens' Theatre and Theatre Appreciation Society. As of 2001, there are 144 affiliated groups and approximately 250,000 members.

[Tsutomu Ohshima]

"The Labor Movement by Abe Fumio and Sugai Yukio (1976, Miraisha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

勤労者演劇協（議）会の略称。勤労者のための全国的な演劇鑑賞団体。1948年（昭和23）に結成された東京勤労者演劇協同組合（東京労演の前身）を最初とし、翌49年大阪労演が設立され、以後、神戸、京都、青森をはじめ全国各都市に広がり、新劇公演を支える有力な観客組織として、65年には53団体、会員数10万に達した。組織としてはドイツの民衆舞台（フォルクスビューネ）に倣い、劇団との相互協力のもとに、会費制による自主的な企画運営を行う。1963年全国演劇鑑賞団体連絡会議（全国労演）が発足、5ブロックによる全国組織となった。74年以降は労演の名称にかわって市民劇場や演劇鑑賞会などの名称が主流となっている。2001年現在、加盟144団体、会員数約25万。

［大島　勉］

『阿部文勇・菅井幸雄著『労演運動』（1976・未来社）』

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