Molière

Writing

Molière

Born — Died

1622-01-15 — 1673-02-17

Place of birth

Paris, France

Known for

Writing

Credits

40 titles

Known for

National Theatre Live: The Misanthrope poster
NR

Alice, a brilliant novelist, despises the hollow contemporary mantras of kindness and respect. But the bolder she becomes in speaking out, the more colleagues avoid her, and the more her personal relationships begin to fracture. As she challenges fashionable ideas and lends her voice to causes others are afraid to touch, she faces intense criticism and backlash. Alice will soon learn the price she must pay as an artist and as a woman for daring to speak her mind. Award-winner Sandra Oh is the Misanthrope in Martin Crimp's cutting new version of Molière's dark comedy, directed by National Theatre Director Indhu Rubasingham.

National Theatre Live: The Misanthrope

2026

Don Juan poster
4.5

Spain in the mid-seventeenth century. A series of bloody wars has ravaged the nation. Don Juan the nobleman and his valet, Sganarelle, roam the countryside on horseback, on the run and lost.

Don Juan

1998

Don Juan poster
10.0

Don Juan has betrayed and abandoned Donna Elvira, who loves him. Sganarelle, his servant, speaks his mind bluntly: "A great man and an evil man in one person is a terrible thing." TV adaptation of Molière's comedy from 1665.

Don Juan

1973

Tartuffe poster
7.0

Donald Moffat stars in Moliere's classic comedy about lovable scoundrel Tartuffe, who befriends the wealthy Orgon and then attempts to seduce both his new friend's wife and daughter in this TV presentation from the Broadway Theatre Archive. Tartuffe pretends to be a pious man whose faith convinces Orgon and his family to succumb to his influence, but he's undone when his womanizing ways make it clear that his piety is a charade.

Tartuffe

1978

Sganarelle poster
NR

Sganarelle is the central character in four farces that were adapted for an evening's entertainment. In The Flying Doctor, Sganarelle tries to outwit a man who is forcing his daughter to marry someone she does not love. In The Forced Marriage, an older Sganarelle has fallen in love with a young woman who is interested only in his money. In Sganarelle, the only play of the four written in verse, the title character becomes convinced that his spouse is cheating on him. In A Dumb Show, a wife forces her woodcutter husband to cure a young woman who cannot speak. The American Repertory Theatre's production of Moliere's play, recorded at the Duke of York's Theatre, London.

Sganarelle

1984

The Misanthrope poster
9.5

Célimène, a beautiful young widow, chooses to keep her many suitors hoping in order to preserve her freedom, even though she is drawn to one of them, Alceste. An idealist, Alceste refuses to play the social game; he seeks to persuade the young woman to abandon her strategy and give herself over to an exclusive love. Theater play "Le misanthrope" played by the "Comédie française" in 2000. Rather than a simple recording of a live theater performance, this version was explicitly structured as a television movie. It blended cinematic camera work with the theatrical script.

The Misanthrope

2000

Behind the camera

National Theatre Live: The Misanthrope poster
NR

Alice, a brilliant novelist, despises the hollow contemporary mantras of kindness and respect. But the bolder she becomes in speaking out, the more colleagues avoid her, and the more her personal relationships begin to fracture. As she challenges fashionable ideas and lends her voice to causes others are afraid to touch, she faces intense criticism and backlash. Alice will soon learn the price she must pay as an artist and as a woman for daring to speak her mind. Award-winner Sandra Oh is the Misanthrope in Martin Crimp's cutting new version of Molière's dark comedy, directed by National Theatre Director Indhu Rubasingham.

National Theatre Live: The Misanthrope

2026

Don Juan poster
4.5

Spain in the mid-seventeenth century. A series of bloody wars has ravaged the nation. Don Juan the nobleman and his valet, Sganarelle, roam the countryside on horseback, on the run and lost.

Don Juan

1998

Don Juan poster
10.0

Don Juan has betrayed and abandoned Donna Elvira, who loves him. Sganarelle, his servant, speaks his mind bluntly: "A great man and an evil man in one person is a terrible thing." TV adaptation of Molière's comedy from 1665.

Don Juan

1973

Tartuffe poster
7.0

Donald Moffat stars in Moliere's classic comedy about lovable scoundrel Tartuffe, who befriends the wealthy Orgon and then attempts to seduce both his new friend's wife and daughter in this TV presentation from the Broadway Theatre Archive. Tartuffe pretends to be a pious man whose faith convinces Orgon and his family to succumb to his influence, but he's undone when his womanizing ways make it clear that his piety is a charade.

Tartuffe

1978

Sganarelle poster
NR

Sganarelle is the central character in four farces that were adapted for an evening's entertainment. In The Flying Doctor, Sganarelle tries to outwit a man who is forcing his daughter to marry someone she does not love. In The Forced Marriage, an older Sganarelle has fallen in love with a young woman who is interested only in his money. In Sganarelle, the only play of the four written in verse, the title character becomes convinced that his spouse is cheating on him. In A Dumb Show, a wife forces her woodcutter husband to cure a young woman who cannot speak. The American Repertory Theatre's production of Moliere's play, recorded at the Duke of York's Theatre, London.

Sganarelle

1984

The Misanthrope poster
9.5

Célimène, a beautiful young widow, chooses to keep her many suitors hoping in order to preserve her freedom, even though she is drawn to one of them, Alceste. An idealist, Alceste refuses to play the social game; he seeks to persuade the young woman to abandon her strategy and give herself over to an exclusive love. Theater play "Le misanthrope" played by the "Comédie française" in 2000. Rather than a simple recording of a live theater performance, this version was explicitly structured as a television movie. It blended cinematic camera work with the theatrical script.

The Misanthrope

2000

Dom Juan poster
6.4

This telefilm in black and white is diffused on the first French chain the November 6th 1965. It undoubtedly remains the most known adaptation of the Dom Juan of Molière.

Dom Juan

1965

Kibarlık Budalası poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Kibarlık Budalası

2020

L'Amour Médecin suivi de Le Sicilien ou l'Amour Peintre poster
NR

Sganarelle is obstinate. He categorically refuses to allow Clitandre to marry his daughter Lucinda. To get around this obstacle, she develops a stratagem, with the help of Lisette, her maid. She feigned illness, forcing her father to call in doctors who proved incompetent. The servant then proposes an outstanding doctor, who is none other than Clitandre in disguise... This comedy-ballet in three acts, written to music by Jean-Baptiste Lully, was the first play that Molière's troupe staged as the king's troupe, in 1665. It was followed by another short play: The Sicilian or Love Painter. Cover: On the left, Clitandre, in the centre Lucinde, on the right Sganarelle.

L'Amour Médecin suivi de Le Sicilien ou l'Amour Peintre

2006

L'École des femmes poster
9.3

Arnolphe plans to marry Agnès, his ward, a naive and submissive young girl, whom he keeps recluse in a convent. His plans are threatened when Horace confesses his feelings for Agnès.

L'École des femmes

1973

L'école des femmes poster
7.0

A man's clumsy attempts to marry his young naive ward. Ophuls' idea was: show the Louis Jouvet theater troupe, which had decamped to Geneva, playing for an audience and show things like the actors getting made up, and going behind stage.

L'école des femmes

1940

The Imaginary Invalid poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

The Imaginary Invalid

1979

Hastalık Hastası poster
10.0

Summary of "The Imaginary Invalid" Molière’s comedy "The Imaginary Invalid" (Le Malade Imaginaire) tells the story of Argan, a hypochondriac obsessed with his health. He constantly seeks medical treatments despite being in good health. To save on medical expenses, he plans to marry his daughter Angélique to a doctor. However, Angélique loves Cléante and opposes the arranged marriage. Argan’s clever servant, Toinette, devises a plan to expose the truth. Meanwhile, Argan’s wife, Béline, is only interested in his wealth. Through Toinette’s tricks, Argan realizes his errors and changes his ways. In the end, Angélique is allowed to marry Cléante, and Argan learns to live without his excessive fear of illness. This play humorously criticizes the medical profession and human obsession with health through satire and wit.

Hastalık Hastası

2024

The School of Wives poster
6.2

This television adaptation presents Molière’s comedy The School of Wives, centering on Arnolphe, an older bachelor who plans to marry his young ward, Agnès, believing her innocence will ensure his control. His scheme is disrupted when Agnès falls in love with the younger Horace, setting off a series of deceptions and confrontations that undermine Arnolphe’s authority.

The School of Wives

1983

The Met — Der Rosenkavalier poster
NR

This production of Strauss’s most sumptuous work by director Nathaniel Merrill and designer Robert O’Hearn is almost as beloved as the opera itself. It perfectly captures the glittering never-land of rococco Vienna the way the Viennese—and the rest of the world—wish it had been, and it’s the ideal setting for an adult comedy of love and errors. Susan Graham is the aristocratic young Octavian, torn between two women: Renée Fleming as the Marschallin, the mature woman who understands that one day Octavian must leave her; and Christine Schäfer as Sophie, the young girl who unexpectedly captures his heart. Kristinn Sigmundsson is the lecherous Baron Ochs who sets the whirling plot in motion, and Edo de Waart conducts.

The Met — Der Rosenkavalier

2010

Le Misanthrope poster
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

Le Misanthrope

1971

La Comédie-Française - Le Malade Imaginaire poster
5.3

Filmed 5 and 6 November 2020. Argan, suffering from hypochondria, decides to marry his daughter to a young doctor... The troupe of the Comédie-Française, led by Guillaume Gallienne and Bruno Podalydès, excels in this comedy-ballet, which is both a satirical farce and a reflection on death. The direction by Claude Stratz and the original music by Marc-Olivier Dupin breathe new life into this classic by Molière.

La Comédie-Française - Le Malade Imaginaire

2020

Les femmes savantes poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Les femmes savantes

2026

Le Tartuffe ou l'Hypocrite poster
NR

On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Molière’s birth on 15 January 2022, Ivo van Hove reunited with the Troupe for their third collaboration, a production of Le Tartuffe ou l’Hypocrite, the original version in three acts, banned at its premiere in 1664 and reconstructed thanks to the work of ‘theatrical genetics’ overseen by Georges Forestier and Isabelle Grellet.

Le Tartuffe ou l'Hypocrite

2022

L'Avare poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

L'Avare

2022

Le Malade Imaginaire (de Molière) poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Le Malade Imaginaire (de Molière)

2016

The Imaginary Invalid poster
6.4

No synopsis available yet.

The Imaginary Invalid

2008

Le Médecin malgré lui poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Le Médecin malgré lui

1973

Le Tartuffe poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Le Tartuffe

1973

Le Malade imaginaire poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Le Malade imaginaire

1986

Don Juan in Hell poster
5.4

While the last remnants of the Empire are extinguishing and King Philip II (1559-1598) is dying in the shadow of lost splendor, a man, defying the divine and human justice, turns his passions into fate and his will into law. His fame is as great as his pride. His conviction, eternal. His name, a legend: Don Juan. Free adaptation of "Don Juan" by Moliere.

Don Juan in Hell

1991

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Dom Juan

1985

The Miser poster
10.0

Television broadcast of L'avare by Molière.

The Miser

1939

Les Précieuses Ridicules poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Les Précieuses Ridicules

1969

La Troupe du Roy : Hommage à Molière poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

La Troupe du Roy : Hommage à Molière

1973

Tartuffe poster
7.0

Orgon and his mother swear by Tartuffe, the self-styled devout who lives off them. The other members of the family, scandalized by the clergyman's hold over them, will do anything to expose his hypocrisy. Michel Bouquet plays an almost monstrous Tartuffe, whose only weakness lies in his feelings for Elmire.

Tartuffe

1971

Tartuffe poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Tartuffe

2014

Dom Juan poster
NR

Filmed for television, this production adapts Molière’s Dom Juan (or The Feast with the Statue), following the final days of the libertine Dom Juan Tenorio as he seduces, deceives, and provokes those around him. His servant Sganarelle serves as a constant companion and observer, accompanying Dom Juan toward the reckoning implied by the play’s statue motif.

Dom Juan

1985

Scapin the Schemer poster
NR

Their conflicts seem deep and unsolvable, but the cunning servant Scapin helps the children with his tricks, deceiving their vain parents, until in the end everything ends in the victory of love.

Scapin the Schemer

1982

The School for Wives poster
2.0

The School For Wives, at its core, is about gender power dynamics. We are looking forward to telling this classic 17th century French tale through the lens of a contemporary aesthetic and an all female, primarly non-white cast to further bring into focus the inherent power of justice and equality over racism and sexism. Furthermore, by casting a Black woman in the central role of ARNOLPHE - a white man of power and privilege, who is forced to realize that he cannot control or snuff out ANYONE's humanity - we are shining a light on the ultimate absurdity of similar American systems of oppression.

The School for Wives

2020

No artwork available
NR

In May 1664, Louis XIV celebrated the completion of major expansion work at Versailles. For the occasion, the king called on Molière's talent to compose these evenings for the court and the comedians. These very familiar festivities spotlighted two historical figures: Louis XIV and Molière. These entertainments are composed of three plays by Molière: La Princesse d'Elide, Le Mariage forcé and three acts of Tartuffe. Maurice Béjart staged these gargantuan evenings at the Comédie-Française, where excess was omnipresent in these pleasures.

Les Plaisirs de l'île enchantée

1981

Dom Juan ou le Festin de pierre poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Dom Juan ou le Festin de pierre

—

Georges Dandin poster
9.0

György Dandin, the rich bourgeois concludes a marriage contract with the noblemen Lükeházy couple who has turned poor: he can marry their daughter in return of a regular financial contribution. Angyalka escapes the undesired husband at their very first night, and furthermore she establishes a secret romantic relationship with Count Klitander who suits her a lot better.

Georges Dandin

1955

Le malade imaginaire poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Le malade imaginaire

2008

Tartuffe ou L'imposteur (Comédie Française) poster
5.0

Tartuffe is a hypocritical impostor who manages to manipulate Orgon, a wealthy widowed bourgeois, by feigning devotion. Orgon ends up offering his daughter Mariane in marriage to Tartuffe, while he disowns his son Damis and intends to donate all his possessions to Tartuffe. Elmire, Orgon's young wife, whom Tartuffe is courting, will attempt to expose him, while the royal family intervenes to prevent the ruin of Orgon's family.

Tartuffe ou L'imposteur (Comédie Française)

1997