Le Petit-Maître corrigé ・ Comédie-Française

“The concept of the petit-maître, the fop, may seem very foreign to us, but do we too not know elegant and stylish young people with affected or pretentious manners, for whom fashion is all that matters? If one were to caricature somewhat, such a person is what would be called a fashion addict today.”

Known for the sharpness of his stagings of plays from the Repertoire, to which he is very attached, in this production Clément Hervieu-Léger makes the eighteenth century resonate with our era, all the more so given that the language is “simpler than in other Marivaux plays, while still as refined, precise and full of humour”. Thus, In 2016, through this play that hadn’t been seen at the Comédie-Française since its premiere in 1734, he revealed the timelessness of a theatre that “speaks to us of ourselves, intimately”.

The story is that of a young Parisian whose parents have found a good match for him, a count’s daughter. But when he goes to visit her in her country home, the handsome boy – whose Parisian manners are far removed from the rules of decorum that reign in the provinces – cannot open his heart to his lovely intended. Stung, the latter decides to punish his arrogance while a former lover arrives to prevent the marriage. Between the alliance of master and manservant, and the complicity of mistress and maid, a romantic intrigue ensues full of light-hearted conspiracies and feverish emotions.

Premiere
3 December 2016
Salle Richelieu

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