Raymond Poisson (1630–1690) was a French actor and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. Mainly a comic actor, he used the stage names Crispin in comedy and Belleroche in tragedy.Gaines 2002, p. 374.

Career

Poisson joined the company of the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris, primarily as a comic rival to

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 ...

, who played at the

Palais-Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal ...

. As a comedian Poisson wore a black servant costume in a Spanish style and was noted for his stutter.Hartnoll 1983, p. 73 ("Belleroche"). He appropriated the character of Crispin from Scarron's ''L'Écolier de Salamanque'' (1654), playing it himself, and wrote and appeared in ''Lubin'' (1660) and ''Le Baron de la Crasse'' (1661). He became a founding member of 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 ...

in 1680.Hartnoll 1983, p. 169 ("Comédie-Française"). His son

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

and his grandsons Philippe and Francois-Arnoul all became actors, whilst his granddaughter

Madeleine-Angélique de Gomez Madeleine-Angélique de Gomez ( née Poisson; pseudonym M.P.V.D.G.; 22 November 1684 – 28 December 1770) was a French author and playwright. Biography Madeleine-Angelique was born in Paris on 22 November 1684 to the actor Paul Poisson. Made ...

became a writer.

Notes

Bibliography

* Curtis, A. Ross (1972).
Crispin Ier : la vie et l'œuvre de Raymond Poisson, comédien-poète du XVIIe siècle
'. University of Toronto Romance Series (in French). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. . – via the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. * Gaines, James F., editor (2002). ''The Molière Encyclopedia''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. . * Hartnoll, Phyllis, editor (1983). ''The Oxford Companion to the Theatre'' (fourth edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Poisson, Raymond 17th-century French male actors French male stage actors 17th-century French dramatists and playwrights 17th-century French male writers Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française Writers from Paris 1630 births 1690 deaths