Free Republic

During his lifetime, the French dramatist Moliere elevated comedy to a level of respect and importance once exclusively reserved for tragedy. In 2022, the 400th anniversary of the year of his birth, his name is often mentioned in the same breath as William Shakespeare and other literary titans. Moliere was the alias of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, born in 1622 to a upholsterer who served the royal household. He wrote his numerous plays well before the French Revolution, at a time when the authority of the king and the church was intact. Yet in his plays, which are still regularly performed today,...

The NCPA's Western classic drama series will present Moliere's The Imaginary Invalid by French theater Comedie-Francaise, and an international co-production of Shakespeare's Richard III. Mu Qian reports. Oscar-winning artists, classic plays and some of the world's most established theater groups will be featured in the Western classic drama series of the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA). The first two works of the series, French state theater Comedie-Francaise's performance of Moliere's The Imaginary Invalid, and an international co-production of Shakespeare's Richard III, starring Kevin Spacey, will be staged at the center from Oct 27 to Nov 13. "This will...