WITH
Mélanie BEAUCHAMP · Éric CHARBONNEAU
Julian DOUCET · Marc OUIMET · Karine RICARD
Gisèle ROUSSEAU · Benoît SAINT-HILAIRE
Pierre SIMPSON AND Manuel VERREYDT
DIRECTED BY Jean-Stéphane ROY
SETS, PROPS AND LIGHTING Glen Charles LANDRY
COSTUMES Nina OKENS
SOUNDSCAPE Gavin FEARON
STAGE MANAGER Dominic MANCA
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER Ève PICARD
PHOTOGRAPHY Nir BAREKET
A PRODUCTION OF THÉÂTRE FRANÇAIS DE TORONTO
ALCESTE IS AT ODDS WITH HUMANKIND for its lack of loyalty and the hypocrisies inherent in social conventions. Despite this, he is in love with Célimène, a flighty, shallow and heartless coquette, but he will not manage to ask for her hand in marriage because too many obstacles stand in his way. For instance, he is embroiled in a lawsuit with a courtier, the poetaster Oronte, who is trying to tarnish Alceste’s reputation while courting Célimène himself. Alceste refuses any kind of compromise, including appealing his cause at the court, even though he is clearly in the right. Ultimately, Alceste fails to understand why Célimène, should she agree to marry him, would refuse to follow him far from this mundane world, and live happily somewhere in isolation.
"In a society where social order continues to require compromise, Molière’s work remains relevant. While, since its creation, much has changed, human behaviour almost certainly has not."
– GUY MIGNAULT
PRODUCTION SPONSOR
In The Misanthrope, Molière gives us memorable scenes: Philinte and Alceste discussing social conventions, Arsinoé and Célimène lashing at one another while condemning gossip, Oronte and Alceste almost coming to blows over matters of style and good taste. In these exchanges, Molière delivers his thoughts on authenticity and frankness, as opposed to the compromises that those who want to live in harmony with humankind must accept; and his thoughts on one’s self respect and the respect of one’s own opinions, as opposed to the need to follow fashion. Molière has created characters and situations which bridge centuries and demonstrate that, when it comes to human nature, things haven’t changed much in 300 years.
Costa Leclerc Design