Description of the attraction
The Comédie Française is not only the most famous French theater, but also the only state-funded repertory theater in the country. It is located in the city center, near the Palais Royal.
King Louis XIV stood at the source. An inveterate theatergoer, he issued a decree uniting two leading Parisian troupes in the Theater of French Comedians and granting him the exclusive right to show performances in Paris. The theater received financial support and a superintendent, who determined the repertoire and the composition of the troupe.
The court theater was a partnership of actors ("societe"). The income was divided into shares due to the members of the partnership ("societers"). This structure persisted all the time, except for the period of the French Revolution. Then the Constituent Assembly renamed the Comédie Francaise Theater of the Nation and canceled all its privileges. The troupe immediately split into Royalists and Republicans. The Republicans created the Theater of the Republic. The Jacobins arrested everyone who remained in the troupe and sentenced them to guillotine. Those sentenced to death were saved after the overthrow of Robespierre.
The creative life of the theater was regulated in detail by the charter approved by Napoleon during his time in Moscow. Forty rules of the charter required weekly troupe meetings, duties of co-workers to play on stage every day without the right to refuse the role. This structure is preserved to this day, except that there are more socialists. In addition to them, invited actors, "boarders", play on the local stage. Each boarder seeks to move to the status of a socialiteter - such a transition significantly increases earnings.
The unofficial name of the theater is Moliere's House: the troupe of the great comedian played at the Palais Royal from 1661 to 1673. The theater contains the chair in which Moliere allegedly died during the performance of "The Imaginary Sick" (in fact, he died already at home).
Sarah Bernhardt, Jeanne Samary, Jean Mare played on the stage of the Comedie Francaise. The traditions of the theater include a constant adherence to high drama, emphasized attention to speech and language. Today, the Comedie Francaise is almost the only classical theater of a national scale in the world that boldly embarks on creative experiments.
