Théâtre Libre (tāät´rə lēb´rə), French theatrical company founded in Paris in 1887 by André Antoine. Inspired by the work of the Meiningen Players, Antoine's theater became a showcase for naturalist drama. Plays of Zola, Becque, Brieux, and of contemporary German, Scandinavian, and Russian masters were produced. The Théâtre Libre became a model for experimental theaters throughout Europe and the United States.

See S. M. Waxman, Antoine and the Théâtre-Libre (1926).

Meiningen Players, German theatrical company that toured Europe from 1874 to 1890. The group, inspiring theatrical reforms wherever it performed, was a major influence in the movement toward modern theater. George II, duke of Saxe-Meiningen, who had organized the company, strove to perfect ensemble acting and as a designer used historically accurate costumes and settings. He was the first to recognize the importance of central artistic control, which anticipated the function of the director in the production of plays.