Like many performance sites of the period, the Théâtre du Marais was a converted tennis court. There were many of these in the city of Paris, and their rectangular shape and open floor with side galleries made them ideal for conversion into theatres either on a permanent or temporary basis. The Marais district in the city was both lively and fashionable during the early seventeenth-century. The conversion of its tennis court into a theatre in 1634 turned out to be a permanent one, as its resident troupe led by Montdory continued to be a success. When the building burned down in 1644, the troupe financed an extensive remodeling which made the theatre larger in capacity and more luxurious than its public rival, the Hôtel de Bourgogne.

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