The Illustre Théâtre was a French theatre company set up by

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

on 30 June 1643, and shut down less than two years later on his imprisonment in August 1645. However, it is notable for its impact on the history of the French theatre. It was succeeded by la Troupe de Molière.

History

By an act of association signed on 30 June 1643, before the notaries M^es Duchesne and Fieffé, the troupe was set up by the following signatories: * Denis Beys * Germain Clérin, known as Villabé *

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Jean-Baptiste is a male French name, originating with Saint John the Baptist, and sometimes shortened to Baptiste. The name may refer to any of the following: Persons * Charles XIV John of Sweden, born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, was King ...

(not yet known as Molière) *

Joseph Béjart Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

* Nicolas Bonenfant, known as Croisac * Georges Pinel, known as La Couture *

Madeleine Béjart Madeleine Béjart (8 January 1618 – 17 February 1672), was a French actress and theatre director, one of the most famous French stage actors of the 17th-century. She was the co-founder of the Illustre Théâtre. Life She belonged to the Béjart ...

- who was, by the act, accorded the privilege "to choose whichever rôle she likes" * Madeleine Malingre * Catherine Des Urlis * Geneviève Béjart, known as Mlle Hervé. The new troupe set up at first at the Perle dive, rue de la Perle in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Some months later, it moved to

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

where an eleventh member, Catherine Bourgeois, was added, some of the original, like Bonenfant, having stayed in Paris. Having won the protection of the duc d'Orléans, the new troupe returned to

and took up residence at the ''

jeu de paume ''Jeu de paume'' (, ; originally spelled ; ), nowadays known as real tennis, (US) court tennis or (in France) ''courte paume'', is a ball-and-court game that originated in France. It was an indoor precursor of tennis played without racquets, a ...

des Métayers'', 13 rue de Seine, where they opened on 1 January 1644 playing

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

. Receipts were low and their protector left for the war.

, who signed himself

from 28 June, was obliged to borrow. They had to leave and moved to the ''jeu de paume de la Croix-Noire'', rue des Barrés, in December of the same year. Unable to repay his multiple creditors, Molière was imprisoned in August 1645 : after less than two years of existence, the ''Illustre Théâtre'' had finally failed, but it had made a mark on the history of theatre.

Contract of 30 June 1643

20th century homages

*The theatre in

Pézenas Pézenas (; Languedocien: ''Pesenàs'') is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Name The name "Pézenas" is derived from the older name ''Piscenae'', probably from the Latin word ''piscenis'', meaning fi ...

is called Illustre Théâtre, in homage to Molière who crossed the

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

between 1647 and 1657, and stayed in Pézenas in 1650–1651, during the

Estates of Languedoc The Estates of Languedoc was the provincial assembly for the province of Languedoc during the ancien regime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ...

. * The '' metteur en scène'', Jean-Marie Villégier named his company the Illustre Théâtre'' in reference to Molière : « ''On sait par exemple qu'il a joué

Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...

Tristan L'Hermite :''See also François Tristan l'Hermite'' Tristan l'Hermite (died c. 1478) was a French political and military figure of the late Middle Ages. He was born in Flanders near the beginning of the century. He was provost of the marshals of the Kin ...

, Rotrou. Mon idée était de travailler ce répertoire, tel que l'a trouvé Molière avant de devenir l'écrivain que l'on connaît''. » ("We know, for example, that he played Corneille, Tristan L'Hermite, Rotrou. My idea was to work this repertoire, as Molière found it before becoming the writer that we know.")

External links

L'illustre theatre in Pézenas

Compagnie Jean-Marie Villégier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Illustre Theatre Theatre companies in France 1643 establishments in France 1645 disestablishments