Théâtre de la foire is a collective name as given to the theatre that is held on the annual fairs at Saint – Germain and Saint Laurent in Paris. The ancient references to the annual fair dates back to 1176 and it occurs at the place around the Abbey of Saint- Germain-des- Pres and lasts for about three to five weeks around Easter. In 18th century it opened on February 3 and end until Palm Sunday.
The fair’s first actors whom names are still recorded were Jehan Courtin and Nicolas Poteau, and they entertained the Parisian public in 1595 to the extent so that actors of the  Hôtel de Bourgogne filed a suit against them. In 1618, André Soliel and Isabel Le Gendre also became so successful with them. Among the most famous artists of the Saint-Germain fair were: marionnette manipulators Pierre and François, Jean-Baptiste Archambault, Jérôme, Arthur and Nicolas Féron; dancers Charles and Pierre Alard, Moritz von der Beek , Alexandre Bertrand and Louis Nivelon and numerous others.
Of the two fairs, The Saint-Laurent fair was founded in 1344 in the area of the Abbaye des frères de Saint-Lazare. Around the start of the eighteenth century, this fair was scheduled to be hosted around August 9 to 29 September. The Saint-Laurent fair was  place of gathering for artisans, merchants, and the middle class, and was mostly organized outdoors whereas the Saint-Germain fair, as protected from the weather, worked as a showcase for the luxury items like jewelry, china, musical instruments, and prints.Many artists and performance troupes from the Saint-Germain fair do also attend Saint-Laurent, as one fair happens in the spring and the other takes place in the summer. This alternation lets the public to enjoy there favorite shows made a ground for the sort of start for the theatrical “soap opera”, where a play begins at Saint-Germain and is continued at Saint-Laurent. Another fair the La foire Saint-Ovide was established in 1964 at the Place Louis XIV, the Saint Ovide fair the Place Louix XIV in 1772. It disappeared in 1777, destroyed by a fire.
This small fairs yet has marshaled even in performances of small plays as written by renowned and very talented autors and the professionalization of entertainment at the fair started worrying big theater houses like Comédie-Française, that felt it to be in a dangerous competition. The Comédie-Française after many trails before the Châtelet and the Parliament of Paris, was successful in the prohibition of performances with dialogue.