Théâtre 140, Performing arts venue in Schaerbeek, Belgium.
Théâtre 140 is a performing arts venue in Schaerbeek with a main stage, bar, and multiple spaces designed for artistic productions. The spaces can accommodate different types of events, from concerts to smaller theatrical performances and comedy shows.
Jo Dekmine, who had run Brussels cabarets La Poubelle and La Tour de Babel in the 1950s, was put in charge in 1962 of a hall under construction, meant at first for the neighbouring parish a few days a year. He founded the association Spectacles d'Aujourd'hui and opened the theatre in 1963; he directed it until 2015, from 1976 with Renée Paduwat and from 2010 with Astrid Van Impe.
The name comes from its address at 140 Avenue Eugène Plasky. Jo Dekmine called it "une baraque de foire" to signal its openness to foreign and non-francophone acts. The bar in the adjoining 19th-century house serves toasts, soups, cheeses and meats after shows, continuing a food tradition begun by Dekmine's short-lived restaurant L'Échalote in 1963–64.
The entrance is a wide glass wall with double doors on Avenue Eugène Plasky, marked by the numeral 140; the booking office occupies a small white former stable in the theatre's private car park. The auditorium seats almost 600, and the bar in the adjoining 19th-century house serves toasts, soups, cheeses and meats after performances.
The building rises only one storey above ground and is hidden behind a row of apartment blocks. The entrance hall floor carries an abstract painting by Jean-Marie De Busscher. In the private car park, a tiny white former stable houses the booking office.
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