The Illustre Théâtre was a French theatre company set up by
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) Р17 February 1673), known by his stage name Moli̬re (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...
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 (not yet known as Molière)
*
Joseph Béjart
Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "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 modern-day Nordic count ...
*
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 BÃ ...
- 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 city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. Some months later, it moved to
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
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
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
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, ...
des Métayers'', 13 rue de Seine, where they opened on 1 January 1644 playing
tragedy
A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...
. Receipts were low and their protector left for the war.
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, who signed himself
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) Р17 February 1673), known by his stage name Moli̬re (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...
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: ''Pesenà s'') 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'', meanin ...
is called Illustre Théâtre, in homage to Molière who crossed the
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) 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 .
History
...
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,
Tristan L'Hermite
:''See also François Tristan l'Hermite''
Tristan l'Hermite (died ) was a French political and military figure of the late Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to ...
,
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 PézenasCompagnie Jean-Marie Villégier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Illustre Theatre
Theatre companies in France
1643 establishments in France
1645 disestablishments