Christophe Rauck

As a theatre director and artistic director, Christophe Rauck has, since the beginning of his career, developed a body of work shaped by a constant dialogue between major repertoire works—Brecht, Marivaux, Shakespeare—and contemporary writing, from Rémi De Vos to Sara Stridsberg, Alice Birch, and Jonas Hassen Khemiri.

Throughout his career, he has placed youth and transmission at the heart of his work. After leading the École du Nord in Lille, he founded, upon arriving in Nanterre, the Belle Troupe des Amandiers, followed by L’Envolée, a program supporting emerging artists.

Originally trained as an actor, Christophe Rauck began his career at the Théâtre du Soleil under the direction of Ariane Mnouchkine. In 1995, he founded his company Terrain vague (working title) with actors he met at Théâtre du Soleil, and directed The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht, later revived at the Berliner Ensemble as part of the playwright’s centenary celebrations.

Between 1997 and 2002, he trained in directing under Lev Dodin in Saint Petersburg (Nomadic School of the Jeune Théâtre National). During this period, he directed As You Like It and Twelfth Night by Shakespeare, The Chopalovitch Traveling Theatre by Lioubomir Simovitch at the Théâtre du Peuple in Bussang, Le Rire des asticots (after Cami) at the Nouveau Théâtre d’Angers, and L’Affaire de la rue Lourcine by Labiche at Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne.

From 2003 to 2006, he directed the Théâtre du Peuple in Bussang, where he staged The Dragon by Evgueni Schwartz, Life of Galileo by Brecht, and The Government Inspector by Gogol, while also leading training workshops at the CNSAD and the TNS.

In 2006, he directed Getting Attention by Martin Crimp (Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne and Théâtre de la Ville), followed by The Marriage of Figaro by Beaumarchais at the Comédie-Française (2007), and L’Araignée de l’Éternel, based on texts by Claude Nougaro, at Théâtre de la Ville (2008).

Appointed in 2008 as director of the Théâtre Gérard Philipe – CDN of Saint-Denis, he staged Heart on Fire by Ostrovsky, Round Heads and Pointed Heads by Brecht, Cassé by Rémi De Vos, as well as several Monteverdi operas with Les Paladins. In 2012, The Game of Love and Chance by Marivaux received the Grand Prize of the Syndicat de la critique, followed by Phèdre by Racine (2014).

In 2014, Christophe Rauck was appointed director of the Théâtre du Nord and the École du Nord in Lille. There, he directed Toute ma vie j’ai fait des choses que je savais pas faire by Rémi De Vos (2015–2016), presented at the Avignon Festival and later toured until 2019. In 2016, he staged Figaro Gets a Divorce by Ödön von Horváth, awarded the Prix Georges-Lerminier. In 2017, he directed Amphitryon by Molière in Moscow with former students of Pyotr Fomenko, becoming the first non-Russian director to enter the repertoire of the Fomenko Workshop Theatre.

This was followed by As You Like It (2018), Ben oui mais enfin bon and Départ volontaire (2019) by Rémi De Vos, and two plays by Swedish playwright Sara Stridsberg: The Faculty of Dreams (2020) and Dissection of a Snowfall (2021), whose production was disrupted by the Covid crisis.

Under his leadership, the École du Nord launched in 2015 an innovative program dedicated to playwrights, a unique three-year course in France bringing together writers and actors. In 2018, he was invited to the Avignon Festival with Le Pays lointain (An Arrangement) by Jean-Luc Lagarce, performed by the fifth graduating class of the École du Nord.

Appointed in September 2020 as director of Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers – CDN, Christophe Rauck took up his post in January 2021. There, he reaffirmed an artistic vision alternating between major classical texts and contemporary writing: Henry VI by Shakespeare (2021), followed by Richard II (Avignon Festival 2022, revived at Nanterre-Amandiers in 2022 and 2024). He also revived The Faculty of Dreams and Dissection of a Snowfall by Sara Stridsberg, which continue touring in 2025–2026.

In 2024, he directed Anatomy of a Suicide by Alice Birch, a choral play presenting simultaneously the stories of three women—a mother, her daughter, and her granddaughter. In January 2026, he staged Almost Equal, Almost Brothers, bringing together two texts by Swedish writer Jonas Hassen Khemiri (≈ [Almost Equal To] and I Call My Brothers) in the form of a diptych blending dark comedy and political satire on the loss of identity and the commodification of the world.

Under his direction, Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers underwent a major four-year renovation, during which he maintained the theatre’s activity within its set construction workshops.

From 2021 to 2024, he supported the Belle Troupe des Amandiers, before launching in 2025 L’Envolée, a program opening the theatre to emerging artists, bringing together young talents from, among others, the École du Nord and the Belle Troupe.