The Molière Collection

Summary

Six hilarious satires from the ingenious Molière, France's original master of comedies:

The Bungler: In seventeeth-century Sicily, a clever valet named Mascarille tries to help his boss L├®lie win the girl of his dreams…only to find that L├®lie is a monumental dunce who ruins every one of his intricate schemes. Performed by Richard Easton, et al.

The Imaginary Cuckold: Brian Bedford stars as the enraged husband who imagines his wife is unfaithful, but becomes reluctant to defend his honor in this grand farce of hysterical coincidences, frenzied confusion and mistaken identities – the most widely performed Moli├¿re play in his lifetime. Performed by: Brian Bedford, Joanne Whalley, et al.

The School for Husbands: Sganarelle, a tyrannical old buffoon of a husband-to-be, seeks to isolate his young ward, while unwittingly carrying her messages of devotion to her lover. Performed by: Brian Bedford, Emily Bergl, et al.

The School for Wives: In this biting comedy of errors, the hapless Arnolphe is undone by his own double dealing and double standards. This play is considered by many to be Molière's masterpiece, and Wilbur's subtle verse translation illuminates the great master of comedy at his wittiest. Performed by: William Brown, et al.

Tartuffe: Initially banned in by King Louis XIV, Molière's most famous satire exposes hypocrisy in the Catholic Church. A pious fraud manipulates the patriarch of a wealthy family into giving up his fortune, and it's up to his family to expose the truth before they end up in the poor house. Performed by: Brian Bedford, Martin Jarvis, et al.

The Misanthrope: Razor-sharp wit inflames a competitive game of survival in the salons of seventeenth-century France. In this world of "finest appearances", one man's blunt honesty shatters his society's delicate web of manners in what is often considered to be Molière's Hamlet. Performed by: Harry Althaus, et al.