It was created during the reign of Louis XIV, in 1680, and it remains the oldest theater troupe in the world still in activity.
Baptized
"Maison de Molière"
even if he never played there, the Comédie-Française is inhabited by the author of the
Misanthrope
whose 400th anniversary will be celebrated on January 15.
To discover
Service: book your tickets for Les Démons at the Comédie-Française on the Figaro ticket office
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Within this prestigious institution, a venerated relic: a wooden armchair, protected by a showcase, on which Jean-Baptiste Poquelin agonized during a performance of the
Imaginary Invalid
before succumbing later at home.
“It is somewhere the only object that remains to us of his theater”
, explains Agathe Sanjuan, curator-archivist at the Comédie-Française.
Used by actors until 1879, the chair
“has such a presence that it almost feels like Molière is still sitting there
,” she smiles again.
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Molière like a talisman
In this august House, there are busts of the playwright, which the actors touch to bring them luck, portraits of him or of actors from his troupe such as Mlle Beauval, creator among others of the role of Zerbinette in
Les Fourberies de Scapin
. His successors in the 20th century will have been Michel Galabru, Isabelle Adjani or Francis Huster. Today in the corridors, we can come across Denis Podalydès, Dominique Blanc, Guillaume Gallienne, but also the young generation like Christophe Montenez or Benjamin Lavernhe.
The Comédie-Française was born in 1680 - seven years after the playwright's death - when its former patron Louis XIV decided to merge his troupe with another. “
Le Français
”, as it is sometimes called, will have four rooms before landing at the Salle Richelieu, near the Palais-Royal, where it has been performing since 1799. A few steps from the home where Molière died.
His death is reported in the most precious document the troupe has: the so-called La Grange register, named after Molière's right-hand man - and creator of the role of
Dom Juan
- who documented the troupe's activities.
It is kept in the French library-museum with other relics, a cap and a watch with his name engraved on it.
The archives show that
"there has not been a year when (the Comédie-Française) has not played Molière"
, as Agathe Sanjuan likes to repeat.
The first theater in France
Spiritual heritage of the "
boss
", the house operates according to the sacrosanct principle of alternation, with a different show each evening, mobilizing its trades from morning until evening, with rotations.
"We are the leading theater in France (excluding opera houses, editor's note) in volume of activity: 400 employees, 70 professions, 60 actors"
, proudly specifies its general administrator, Éric Ruf.
If decorators and builders work in Sarcelles (Val-d'Oise), costume designers, upholsterers, managers and others are in Richelieu, in a maze on several floors. Just the costume part is available in different spaces (including that of the appointed dressers for a group of actors or the costume department with 50,000 items listed).
“We make 50 to 70 costumes per creation
,” says Sylvie Lombart, director of clothing services.
Costume designer Lionel Hermouet underlines the
“psychological”
importance of stage costumes, the actors not hesitating to declaim their text from the first fittings. Mohamed Arbia, assistant props manager, explains that over the past five years, the demands of directors have changed drastically:
"Thomas Ostermeier wanted a 'beach' for
Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
, we used two tons of granulated ; Ivo van Hove wanted something that looked like mud in
Electre-Orestes...
”
The house owes its longevity to a mode of operation where the actors are the big decision-makers.
“The troupe is like a self-managing cooperative; it hasn't changed since Molière
,” says Éric Ruf, in office since 2014. When new actors join the troupe, they are hired by the administrator as boarders for a renewable year
.
Afterwards, they can be chosen to become members by a committee made up of seven actors with this status (and which also decides on salary increases). In January 2021, the great actress Dominique Blanc became the 538th member since the first companions of Molière.
"
The administrator engages, the actors release
", says an internal maxim.
It is also the members who decide on the departure of certain actors, sometimes causing a stir, such as the ousting of Catherine Hiegel in 2009.
"We always see that as violence, whereas it is a protection"
, comments Éric Ruf, recalling that many actors have very long careers at the French.
While acknowledging “
the pain
” that this entails, he assures that he
“will always defend this principle because the longevity of this house is due to it.
Otherwise, it would have stopped in 1700
.