Harpagon loves his gold more than his children. Lilo Baur revisits Molière's most biting comedy with the Comédie-Française troupe, and avarice devours everything, even feelings.

At its premiere in 1668 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, it was Molière himself who played the title role. Three and a half centuries later, it is Laurent Stocker who lends his features to Harpagon, an unscrupulous usurer whose entire life is nothing but calculation and paranoia.

The gold is buried in a strongbox at the bottom of the garden, and the old man wants to marry his daughter "without a dowry" to a rich merchant, and his son to a wealthy widow. The children have other plans: Elise loves Valère, who has entered the house disguised as a steward, and Cléante covets Mariane, unaware that his father intends to marry her. All the situational comedy stems from this, and Lilo Baur exploits it fully, noting that Molière adds to the theme of the forced marriage that of the father-son relationship and the quest for a youth that never returns.

Around Stocker, the entire company: Serge Bagdassarian as Maître Jacques, Jean Chevalier as Cléante, Clément Bresson as Valère, Alain Lenglet as Anselme, Nicolas Chupin as La Flèche. Set design by Bruno de Lavenère, costumes by Agnès Falque, original music by Mich Ochowiak. The show premiered at Salle Richelieu in April 2022.

Also featured in our our top shows to see in Paris.

COMÉDIE-FRANÇAISE – SALLE RICHELIEU
Place Colette, 75001 Paris – Metro: Palais-Royal-Musée du Louvre (lines 1, 7)
From November 30, 2026 to March 9, 2027
Running time: 2 hours without intermission – Ages 11+
Tickets: €5 to €56