The Life of a Traveling Acting Company
How Molière’s life on the road influenced his career
Onstage at Lantern Theater Company September 7 through October 8, 2023, Molière’s classic comedy Tartuffe is the work of a master, one in control of their craft and well-practiced in its demands. While Molière’s most enduring comedies were written while he was firmly (if controversially) established in Paris’ theater scene, it was his years touring the French provinces that gave him many of the tools he would need to shine at home.
In 1643, Molière adopted his stage name and took up (both professionally and romantically) with Madeleine Béjart. While Molière’s family was ashamed of his choice of career, Béjart was in quite a different situation: she was the daughter of a famous French theatrical family, and she had been performing in Paris and in the provinces with them since the 1630s. Together, Molière and Béjart formed the Illustre Théâtre in Paris in 1843, creating a company to primarily play tragedies, which were Molière’s first love. It was the city’s third theater, which was apparently one too many — it moved several times, closing after just 18 months under a cloud of debt and Molière’s brief imprisonment for failing to repay their creditors.
But that did not stop the pair. With the help of Béjart’s sharp administrative acumen and her experience in a traveling troupe to guide them, they took to the road, joining Charles Dufresne’s touring company and playing the western and southern French provinces. By 1648, much of the original company of the Illustre Théâtre joined them, and in 1650 Dufresne handed Molière the reins of the company. For the next eight years, they continued touring as La Troupe de Molière.
Under both Dufresne’s and Molière’s direction, the troupe had noble patronage. While little has been recorded about the specific routes and itineraries of the troupe, we do know that first the duc d’Épernon and then the prince de Conti supported the troupe. This meant that the troupe would be available to play at the homes of their noble patrons whenever and wherever desired. But when their patrons did not require their services, the troupe would be free to perform throughout the provinces. The combination of the patron’s financial support and the money made from their touring performances sustained the traveling troupe for the 13 years that Molière, Béjart, and their compatriots from Paris were part of it.
Unlike most modern traveling companies, which perform one show throughout the country, 17th-century traveling troupes like Molière’s would have had a stable of many plays ready to be performed. Like the Illustre Théâtre and Dufresne’s company before it, Molière’s troupe focused on tragedies. Based on the 26 plays the troupe performed in 1659 — their first full year in Paris — we can surmise that the plays in their traveling repertoire bent heavily toward tragedies or tragicomedies by Corneille and his contemporaries, though there were a handful of comedies as well. Only three of these 26 plays — one comedy and two farces — were by Molière, who was only beginning to write during the later part of his time on the road.
This long period of touring — as well as the required ability to be nimble and perform any one of dozens of prepared plays anywhere, at any time — meant that Molière got to know his actors’ abilities and specialties very well, allowing him to write to their strengths. Madeleine Béjart would eventually become famous for her roles as clever, flirtatious maids such as Dorine in Tartuffe or frivolous young women (together, these roles were known as soubrettes). The troupe was also a family affair; Madeleine’s daughter from a prior relationship, Armande (who Molière married in 1662) excelled as intelligent, composed leading women like Tartuffe’s Elmire. Madeleine’s brothers were also in the troupe at various points. And Molière himself never gave up the life of an actor. Even once he started writing and running the company, he always wrote himself a role. In Tartuffe, he was the original Orgon.
This time touring also meant that he came in contact with another popular touring act — the commedia dell’arte troupes that were traveling the country as well. While Molière’s company would eventually share a theater with a commedia troupe in Paris and incorporate some of their principles into his most famous plays, the genre’s influence can be seen most clearly and directly in the early comedies and farces Molière wrote while sharing the road with these troupes.
In 1658, Molière’s troupe came back to Paris and secured the patronage of King Louis XIV’s brother, ensuring that the fate of the Illustre Théâtre would not be repeated. Shortly after their return to the city, Molière wrote Affected Young Ladies, his first great full-length comedy. After his death, Armande continued running the company and oversaw its merger with another company in town to become the Comedie-Française, France’s state theater to this day. Thanks to lessons learned and craft honed on the road, the traveling troupe had finally become a permanent fixture in Paris and in theatrical history.
More great reading: See other recent articles and interviews on the Lantern Searchlight blog
Lantern Theater Company’s production of Molière’s Tartuffe, translated into English verse by Richard Wilbur, is onstage September 7 through October 8, 2023, at St. Stephen’s Theater. Visit our website for tickets and information.
