Molière pour rire et pour pleurer
Season 1
“Where laughter becomes a weapon, and the stage becomes fate.”
Created by: Marcel Camus
Network: ORTF Télévision 2
Season aired: 1973-11-08
Overview
Molière pour rire et pour pleurer recounts the life of Jean‑Baptiste Poquelin, from his childhood in an artisan family to his rise as Molière, a central figure of French theatre. The series shows his difficult decision to abandon the family trade and join Madeleine Béjart to found L’Illustre Théâtre, marked by debts and repeated setbacks. While touring the provinces, he shapes his style and discovers the power of comedy. Back in Paris, he makes a name for himself with Les Précieuses ridicules, but his sharp satires provoke fierce opposition, especially during the Tartuffe scandal. Supported by Louis XIV, he continues despite attacks, literary rivalries, and tensions within his troupe, particularly with Armande Béjart. The miniseries also follows his growing exhaustion, his determination to perform at any cost, and his final breath after Le Malade imaginaire, the ultimate symbol of an artist who lived — and died — for the stage.
About This Season
This miniseries approaches Molière not as a fixed icon, but as a man immersed in the cultural tensions of his time. It shows how his theatre emerges from direct engagement with reality: observing social environments, exposing hypocrisy, and confronting religious and political power. The narrative highlights the inner workings of a troupe, the material challenges of the profession, and the way Molière turns constraints into creative momentum. Far from the glorified myth, the series reveals a path shaped by compromise, strategy, and resistance. Ultimately, it portrays an author who uses comedy as a tool for social insight, and for whom the stage becomes the space where his freedom is truly at stake.
Episodes · 6
Episode 1
In 1642, Jean Poquelin, an ordinary upholsterer to the King, urges his son Jean‑Baptiste to become a lawyer. But Jean‑Baptiste is irresistibly drawn to the theatre — and to the actress Madeleine Béjart. Supported by her family, the young man founds “L’Illustre Théâtre,” a troupe devoted to tragic drama.
Episode 2
Faced with mounting debts and lukewarm reviews, Molière — newly self‑renamed — agrees to join the troupe of the aging Dufresne. It doesn’t take long before Dufresne entrusts him with its direction. Success follows. Back in Paris, eager to satisfy an audience constantly craving novelty, the stage director ventures into comedy.
Episode 3
Molière triumphs with The Pretentious Ladies, but the farce causes embarrassment. His rivals, judging the satire far too realistic, manage to have Molière’s new theatre demolished. Yet they hadn’t counted on the favor of King Louis XIV.
Episode 4
Episode 5
