History is gruesome if we rely on the life of the great French playwright Molière as seen by the famous Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov.
In the adaptation of the 1933 book Le roman de monsieur de Molière, written by the Russian, Lorraine Pintal presents the TNM with a rather somber portrait of Molière, who dreamed of staging tragedy but had to resort to the resulting comedy to immortalize her.
According to the play she directed, disappointment and bitterness characterized this man of the theater who suffered from censorship, the success of his contemporaries like Racine, and the behavior of his loved ones.
An impeccable distribution
In this free adaptation by Louis-Dominique Lavigne, Bulgakov tells the life of the Frenchman he admires. As a narrator, he also tells of his own existence under Stalin’s communism, also forced to live with censorship. The parallel is interesting, even if their fates were very different.
Éric Robidoux is exceptional in his role as Molière, portraying with finesse both young and shy and old and scathing. He is actively supported by Jean‐François Casabonne, who translates from Russian. Rachel Graton is perfect as Molière’s first companion. Outstanding are Simon Beaulé-Bulman in the skin of Louis XIV, Jean Marchand in Corneille’s wig and Philippe Thibault-Denis in the clothes of Jean Racine and the king’s brother.
The rest of the cast is solid too. Jorane also plays music on stage to provide a quality sound envelope.
With its many characters, rich historical and cultural references, and a back-and-forth between 17th-century France and 20th-century Soviet Union, this proposal is loaded. This density somewhat suffocates Molière, who turns out to be too small.
His genius shows up here and there, but without brilliance, as he laments a lot.
The novel by Monsieur de Moliere will be presented in the TNM until December 3rd.
- The novel by Monsieur de Moliere ★★★1⁄2
A play by Lorraine Pintal
With Eric Robidoux, Jean-François Casabonne, Rachel Graton and Simon Beaulé-Bulman.