The Burnt Theatre

The Burnt Theatre
The theatrical poster.
Directed by	Rithy Panh
Written by	Rithy Panh Agnès Sénémaud
Starring	Bopha Chheng Than Nan Doeun Peng Phan
Music by	Marc Marder
Cinematography	Prum Mesa
Edited by	Marie-Christine Rougerie
Distributed by	Catherine Dussart Productions Institut national de l'audiovisuel Les Acacias Arte
Release date	May 15, 2005 (France) March 21, 2006 (U.S.) May 13, 2006 (Canada)
Running time	85 minutes
Country	Cambodia/France
Language	Khmer

The Burnt Theatre, or Les Artistes du Théâtre Brûlé, is a 2005 French-Cambodian docudrama directed and co-written by Rithy Panh. A blend of fact and fiction, based on the actual lives of the actors, the film depicts a troupe of actors and dancers struggling to practise their art in the burned-out shell of Cambodia's former national theatre, the Preah Suramarit National Theatre in Phnom Penh.

The Burnt Theatre premiered at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival as an official selection in the out-of-competition main programme, and has been screened at several other film festivals.

While much of Cambodia's cultural heritage was eradicated through the deaths of many artists during the Khmer Rouge era, the country's main theatrical structure, Preah Suramarit National Theatre remained standing throughout the Cambodian Civil War, even occasionally being used by the communist regime for official visits and propaganda pageants. Ironically, it was while the theatre was undergoing repairs in 1994 that it caught fire, was heavily damaged and has never been restored.

It is in this roofless performance hall that a Khmer classical dance troupe continues to practise daily, and a troupe of actors attempts to produce a Khmer-language adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac on a stage overgrown with weeds.

Around the theatre, Phnom Penh, the nation's capital and largest city, is being rebuilt and redeveloped. Next door, a casino and resort hotel is being built, the slamming sound of the pile drivers provides a counterpoint to the action in the theatre.