Théâtre Régional Abdelkader Alloula

The Théâtre Régional Abdelkader Alloula, on the Place du 1er Novembre, was built in 1907 by the French architect Marius Toudoire — better known for the Gare de Lyon in Paris. The Belle Époque facade, with its allegorical sculptures and twin cupolas, is one of the finest pieces of French civic architecture in Algeria.

The interior — a horseshoe auditorium in red velvet and gilt, restored in the 2000s — hosts a steady programme of Arabic-language theatre, classical concerts, and the occasional Rai festival. The lobby and main bar are open to the public on performance nights.

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A story
The theatre is named for Abdelkader Alloula, the Oran playwright assassinated by Islamists in 1994 during the Algerian civil war. He had spent his career on this stage; his murder, at the height of the Black Decade, marked a turning point in Algerian intellectual life. The renaming, in 1996, was a deliberate gesture of defiance.