Les Fourberies de Scapin

A triumphant reception for this "troupe play, written not for the Court but for the people", premiered in 1671 at the Palais-Royal during a period of renovation. At the time, Molière wanted to free himself from the constraints of comédies-ballets and comédies à machines, and return to "pure theater", offering today's stage director great freedom of action. Here, the stage is set in Naples, a gateway to the maritime imagination, stretching towards the Orient. Against a backdrop reminiscent of the city's port, two sons with thwarted loves, confronted by two authoritarian fathers, rely on the cunning Scapin, driven by a mad desire for revenge. A double of Scaramouche, the adventurous Italian actor fascinated Molière. "To tell you the truth, there are few things that are impossible for me, when I want to get involved" declares the buffoonish valet whose name, as Denis Podalydès reminds us, comes from the Italian verb scappare, meaning "to escape", "to fly away". He may be beaten with a stick, but he's just as likely to return one, and against a backdrop of ransom demands and paternal annoyances, he deploys an avalanche of stratagems and other tricks that the author excelled at depicting. After more than fifty regional performances and a cinema release, this joyous fable, which sees the children's people triumph over the fathers', returns to the stage of the Salle Richelieu.