CELEBRATING MOLIÈRE’S 400TH ANNIVERSARY WITH SOME CULTURE AND LAUGHS

With help from the “Théâtre en Pierres Dorées” and their interpretation of some of Molière’s great works

IFS was pleased to welcome the theatre company “Théâtre en Pierres Dorées,” a professional theatre company from the Lyon region. To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the birth of Molière, the IFS community had the chance to attend the performance of a diptych entitled ‘Mariages Forcés,’ composed of two of Molière’s comedy-ballets: The Sicilian or Love the Painter (Le Sicilien ou l’Amour Peintre) and The Forced Marriage (Le Mariage Forcé).

The actors communicated their energy and passion to IFS students through classroom interventions and by offering theatre workshops during the ten days of their stay. Some of IFS’s Terminale students were assigned with preparing the communication around their arrival, welcoming the actors and leading a question and answer session at the end of the performance. An excellent opportunity to get better acquainted with French cultural heritage.

This visit was organised within the programme of the PEAC (artistic and cultural education pathway), which consists of supporting projects relating to the arts, French heritage or scientific culture. The PEAC is based on three pillars: artistic education, encounters with artists and their works of art and creative practices.

It was a pleasure to hear the laughter of the young audience, to see the actors interact with them and to realise how incisive, timeless and modern Molière’s writing remains.

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Molière was a French playwright and actor widely regarded as one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature. His plays, written in the 17th century, are still performed today and are considered some of the most influential works of comedy in history. Molière’s plays often featured themes of social satire, morality, and the human condition, and his works are still studied and performed in schools and theatres worldwide.