Jean-Michel Ribes

Jean-Michel Ribes — Biography

Jean-Michel Ribes was born on 15 December 1946 in Paris's 16th arrondissement and became a leading figure in French theatre and film as a playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. In the 1980s he made his name with the satirical television programs Merci Bernard (1982-1984) and, from 1988, Palace. Working with artist and writer Roland Topor, he staged their joint piece Batailles in 2008, then went on to direct Petter S. Rosenlund's Un garçon impossible and Roland Dubillard's Les Diablogues; in 2010 he directed Les Nouvelles Brèves de Comptoir, starring Jean-Marie Gourio, followed a year later by his own René l'énervé, set to music by Reinhardt Wagner, and in 2013 by Sébastien Thiéry's L'Origine du Monde. From 2001 to 2022 he ran the Théâtre du Rond-Point in Paris, building it into one of the city's leading stages for contemporary drama. On screen he acted in films including Elle court, elle court la banlieue and Avoir 20 ans dans les Aurès. He has been made both a Knight and an Officer of the Legion of Honour.