The Burnt Theatre

The Burnt Theatre, or Les Artistes du Thtre Brl, is a 2005 FrenchCambodian docudrama directed and cowritten 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 burnedout shell of Cambodias former national theatre, the Preah Suramarit National Theatre in Phnom Penh.

While much of Cambodias cultural heritage was eradicated through the deaths of many artists during the Khmer Rouge era, the countrys 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 Khmerlanguage adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac on a stage overgrown with weeds. ........

Source: Wikipedia