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 Principal theatre of the Comédie-Française, theSalle Richelieu, seen from the intersection of theRue de Richelieu with theAvenue de l'Opéra | |
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| Founded | 1680 |
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| Founder | Louis XIV |
| Purpose | Theatre company |
| Headquarters | 2Rue de Richelieu,1st arrondissement of Paris, France |
| Coordinates | 48°51′49″N2°20′10″E / 48.8635°N 2.3362°E /48.8635; 2.3362 |
| Website | www.comedie-francaise.fr |
TheComédie-Française (French:[kɔmedifʁɑ̃sɛːz]ⓘ), orThéâtre-Français (French:[teɑtʁ(ə)fʁɑ̃sɛ]ⓘ), is astatetheatre inFrance. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as aFrench state-controlled entity in 1995, it is one of the few in the nation and the only to have its own permanent troupe of actors. The company's primary venue is theSalle Richelieu, a part of thePalais-Royal complex located at 2Rue de Richelieu on Place André-Malraux in the1st arrondissement of Paris.
The theatre has also been known as the Théâtre de la République, and popularly as "La Maison de Molière" (The House of Molière). It acquired the latter name from the troupe of its best-known playwright,Molière, considered the patron of French actors. He died seven years before his troupe became known as the Comédie-Française, but the company continued to be known as "La Maison de Molière" even after the official change of name.[1]
The Comédie-Française was founded on 8 August 1680 by a decree ofLouis XIV merging the only two Parisian acting troupes of the time, those of theGuénégaud Theatre and theHôtel de Bourgogne.[2] On the death of Molière in 1673, the troupe at the Guénégaud had been formed by a merger of theThéâtre du Marais and theTroupe de Molière.[3] Two years later they received a royal grant of 12,000livres per year; and seven years later they received their present designation.[1]
The combined company gave its first performance on 25 August 1680 at the Guénégaud.[4] Its leading actors included Molière's widow,Armande Béjart, her husband, Guérin d'Estriché,La Grange,Mlle Champmeslé,Baron,Hauteroche, andRaymond Poisson.[5] The repertoire consisted of the collection of theatrical works by Molière andJean Racine, along with a few works byPierre Corneille,Paul Scarron andJean Rotrou.
In the 18th century, the Comédie-Française was often enjoyed by the French nobility, an expensive luxury.
On the performance ofJoseph Chénier's anti-monarchical playCharles IX in 1789, violent political discussions arose among the performers, ultimately splitting the company into two sections: the Royalists, renamed the "Théâtre de la Nation", and the Republicans led by the young tragedianTalma establishing the "Théâtre de la République" on the site of the present building in the Rue de Richelieu.[2]
On 16 April 1790, the theatre presented the world premiere ofPierre Laujon'sLe Couvent, ou les Fruits du caractère et de l'éducation; the first French play to feature an all-women cast.[6] On 3 September 1793, during theFrench Revolution, the Théâtre de la Nation was closed by order of theCommittee of Public Safety for putting on the allegedly seditious play,Pamela, and the actors were imprisoned, though gradually released later. On 31 May 1799, the new government made the Salle Richelieu available and allowed the actors to reconstitute the troupe.
The Comédie-Française today has a repertoire of 3,000 works and threetheatres inParis (Salle Richelieu, next to thePalais Royal;théâtre du Vieux-Colombier; Studio-Théâtre).
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(July 2025) |
Since October 2020, and because of theCOVID-19 pandemic, the Comédie-Française had to close as it is the case for all other theaters in France.[7] The Comédie-Française having a permanent troupe of actors, it was decided to switch temporarily to an online program, including readings of the full text ofIn Search of Lost Time, and an online initiative calledThéâtre à la table where actors of the troupe play works in the repertoire after a one week rehearsal.[8]
Online attendance for this initiative was unexpectedly high, including people outside of Paris and in other countries.[9][10][11]
In May 2021Éric Ruf, the managing director of the Comédie-Française, declared that 30% of the public of the online program never went to the Comédie-Française, and that they would continue this program even after the reopening.[12]
The Comédie-Française has had several homes since its inception in 1680 in theSalle Guénégaud. In 1689, it was established in atheatre across from the Café Procope. From 1770 to 1782, the Comédie-Française performed in thetheatre in the royal palace of the Tuileries. In 1782, the company moved into the Salle du Faubourg Saint-Germain, designed by architectsMarie-Joseph Peyre andCharles De Wailly and located on the site of today'sOdéon. Since 1799, the Comédie-Française has been housed in the Salle Richelieu (architectVictor Louis) at 2,rue de Richelieu. This theatre was enlarged and modified in the 1800s, then rebuilt in 1900 after a severe fire.[13] The actressJane Henriot was the only casualty of the fire.[14]
The membership of the theatrical troupe is divided intosociétaires andpensionnaires. The former are regular members of the organisation and as such receive a pension after 20 years of service, while the latter are paid actors who may, after a certain length of service, becomesociétaires. The names of nearly all the great actors and dramatists of France have, at some time in their career, been associated with that of the Comédie-Française.[1]
Every year on 15 January, the company performs an "Homage to Molière" on the anniversary of his christening and possibly his birth. Following that evening's performance, which nowadays is free, all members of the troupe, and since 2009 of its academy, assemble on the stage behind a bust of Molière, wearing costumes of their choice from the theatre's repertoire. They first process in ranks to bow to the audience's applause. Each member then says a line from Molière's plays, also applauded. In conclusion, the dean introduces to the audience the new members of the academy, the newpensionnaires, and the newsociétaires, and has the departingsociétaires honoraires applauded.
The tradition was started in 1773 on the centenary of Molière's death. In 1821, it was moved to his then recently discovered christening date, and the next year approached its present form as the final scene of a play specially written byJustin Gensoul,Le Ménage de Molière. In the 19th century,The Imaginary Invalid was often performed on that date, as the final divertissement made it possible for the entire troupe to appear. Similar homages became popular at theOdéon, as well as inother theatres when these lost their privilege to perform Molière in 1864; however, the Comédie-Française is the only one that has maintained it.[15][16]
Thedéfilé (procession) of theParis Opera Ballet, created in the 20th century, bears similarities to the homage.
The chief administrator of the Comédie-Française has been given the titleadministrateur général sinceSimonis' term of 1850. Before that, a variety of titles were given.
Depuis le premier confinement c'est une vraie communauté que la troupe de la Comédie-Française a vu croître jour après jour. "En termes de fréquentation, les chiffres sont considérables", témoigne Pauline Plagnol en charge des relations avec les publics : "1,3 million de spectateurs depuis le mois de mars dernier. Soit 16 000 personnes par jour, contre environ 1300 dans nos trois salles habituellement (860 places salle Richelieu, 300 au Vieux-Colombier, 130 au Studio Théâtre). Il y a eu un très bon bouche-à-oreille numérique et très vite un engouement pour cette Web TV. Au-delà des fidèles et des spectateurs initiés aux pratiques culturelles, on a touché un public qui était intimidé par l'Institution, qui ne la connaissait pas vraiment."
Il y a une "stat" qui m'a également beaucoup intéressé pour le Théâtre à la table, qui est la grosse cerise sur le gâteau parce que c'est vraiment ce que nous travaillons le plus : 98% des web-spectateurs restent au moins une demi-heure sur les deux heures, ce qui est très impressionnant pour internet et plus de 80% qui suivent les représentations dans leur intégralité. C'est donc une pratique extrêmement fidélisée où les gens restent devant leur écran comme s'ils étaient à la salle Richelieu !
Commencées en novembre, au début du deuxième confinement, les lectures de Proust par les comédiens du Français attirent entre 10 000 et 100 000 spectateurs derrière leurs écrans tous les soirs. Un vrai succès.
Les rendez-vous numériques ne vont pas s'arrêter. Ils n'ont cessé d'évoluer. 30 % de notre public numérique n'est jamais venu à la Comédie-Française. Donc lâcher ce public-là ce serait une absurdité. Donc ça va continuer.
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