Founded in 1973 by actor Jean Duceppe, who wanted to bring accessible, plainspoken theatre to working-class Montreal audiences, the company that bears his name has grown into one of the city's major theatrical institutions, with a home in the Place des Arts complex. Where its contemporaries leaned toward Parisian conventions, Duceppe was among the first companies in Quebec to stage productions in joual and to prioritize translations that actually sounded like the people in the seats. The repertoire has always mixed international work, from Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams to more recent English-language playwrights, with a strong commitment to Quebec dramatists including Michel Tremblay, Marie Laberge, and Serge Boucher. Each season typically comprises five main-stage productions alongside a series of one-act plays staged informally in the theatre's backstage spaces, and the company tours one or two productions annually to regional venues across the province.