Venues & stages
Théâtre de l’Alcazar
- Type
- Theatre and cabaret
- Address
- Territet, dans l’ancien Grand Hôtel de Territet, Montreux
Permanently closed
At Territet, in one of the buildings of the former Grand Hôtel, the Théâtre de l’Alcazar was one of the high places of Riviera nightlife. The decorator Dad Régné set up there a restaurant, a museum for his collection of carriages and a performance hall, which hosted dinner-shows, parties and concerts. Two fires, in 1984 and then in 2012, marked its eventful history.
The Alcazar, the theatre of a lifetime
A forgotten hall, revived
Having come to negotiate door fittings in a building of the Grand Hôtel de Territet, Dad Régné discovered a hall forgotten by all and fell in love with it. The owner wanted to raze it for a car park; he bought and restored it.
Restaurant, museum and theatre
There he founded a restaurant, a museum for his carriages and the Théâtre de l’Alcazar, where dinner-shows, parties and concerts followed one another. The place became one of the temples of Montreux nightlife, like the Villa Dubochet where the decorator already entertained his guests.
1984-1990: the fire and the rebirth
A major fire ravaged the Alcazar in 1984. Dad Régné persisted: in 1990 the theatre was reborn, with Grace Jones headlining, the singer with whom he had had a relationship.
Fires and rebirth
A second major fire, in 2012, hastened the decline of the place, just as Dad Régné’s health and business were failing. The Alcazar is today under renovation: a new life lies ahead for this theatre that entered the legend of Montreux nights.