The Misanthrope
National Theatre. Version by Tony Harrison.
Cast & Crew
Cast
Acaste | Nicholas Clay |
---|---|
Alceste | Alec McCowen |
Arsinoé | Gillian Barge |
Basque | Paul Curran |
Célimène | Diana Rigg |
Clitandre | Jeremy Clyde |
Dubois | James Hayes |
Eliante | Jeanne Watts |
Oronte | Gawn Grainger |
Philinte | Alan MacNaughtan |
Secretary of the Academy | Clive Merrison |
Crew | |
Designer | Tanya Moiseiwitsch |
Director | John Dexter |
Lighting | Andy Phillips |
Music | Marc Wilkinson |
Stage Manager | Diana Boddington |
Assistant Stage Manager | Elizabeth Markham |
Assistant Stage Manager | Phil Robins |
Assistant to Producer | Harry Lomax |
Deputy Stage Manager | Tony Walters |
- Source: University of Bristol Theatre Collection
- Last modified by Jared William.
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Play description
The Misanthrope, or the Cantankerous Lover (French: Le Misanthrope ou l’Atrabilaire amoureux) is a 17th-century comedy of manners in verse written by Molière. It was first performed on 4 June 1666 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris by the King’s Players.
The play satirizes the hypocrisies of French aristocratic society, but it also engages a more serious tone when pointing out the flaws that afflict all humans. The play differs from other farces of the time by employing dynamic characters like Alceste and Célimène as opposed to the flat caricatures of traditional social satire. It also differs from most of Molière’s other works by focusing more on character development and nuances than on plot progression. The play, though not a commercial success in its time, survives as Molière’s best known work today.
Because both Tartuffe and Don Juan, two of Molière’s previous plays, had already been banned by the French government, Molière may have softened his ideas to make the play more socially acceptable. As a result, there is much ambiguity about whether the main character Alceste is intended as a hero for his uncompromising honesty, or as a quixotic fool. Molière has been the target of much criticism for The Misanthrope over the years. The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau claimed in his Letter to M. D’Alembert on Spectacles that it was Molière’s best work, but hated that it made Alceste the butt of its humor. He believed the audience should support Alceste’s high ideals rather than laugh at his misadventures.
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