François Moylin, called Francisque, was an 18th-century French actor born c.1695 and died c. 1760. He was a member of a family of actors famous throughout the eighteenth century.
An actor in fairs and showman impresario, Francisque first played in the province and came to Paris to the
foire Saint-Germain in 1715 and then to that of 1718.
In 1720 he founded a troupe composed largely of his family, in which his brother Simon played
Harlequin
Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque dialect, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the ''zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian language, Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city o ...
. At the 1721 foire Saint-Laurent, Francisque was allowed to open an
opéra comique
''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...
show. This privilege was not extended and the
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...
forbade him to perform plays with dialogues, leaving no choice but employing
puppet
A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...
eers and
Francisque fled Paris in 1723 and travelled through the provinces. Grenoble, Nancy, Rouen, Amiens, Avignon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Brussels and The Hague could admire the skill of the actor and the troupe director as talented as he was mysterious. In 1733–1734 he was
Director of the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels.
The last mention we have of him dates from 1756 and it is not known whether he had a wife nor offspring.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Francisque
18th-century French male actors
French male stage actors
French theatre managers and producers
1690s births
1760s deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death uncertain