French Neoclassic Theatre Moliere

French Neoclassic Period 1550-1680 Influence started in France and spread throughout Europe and then the Globe. The French Neoclassic Period was both tragic and comedic. The period was the first time women were allowed on stage. It consisted of farces, heroic tragedy , and comedy of manners.

French Neoclassic Period 1547-59: Reign of Henry II  1562-98: The Wars of Religion  1572: Massacre of Protestants on St. Bartholomew's Eve in Paris   1589-1593: Henry IV becomes 1st Bourbon King and converts to Catholicism, ending Wars of Religion 1608: Founding of Quebec  1617: Louis XIII crowned at the age of 17   1624: Cardinal Richelieu becomes principal minister  1631: A French newspaper carries classified ads  1642: Blaise Pascal invents the Pascaline - an automatic calculator  1643-1715: Louis XIV becomes king with Mazarin as principal minister  1682: Royal court moves to Versailles 

Playwrights Jean Racine (1639-1699) The peak of French neoclassical tragedy Phaedra-1677 usually considred to be the best of french neoclassical tragedies. Based on Greek. Jean Racine

Moliere Real name- Jean Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673) Was an actor and a playwright Headedf his own theatrical troupe by 1660 Influenced commedia and by Roman Comedies and French farces -School for Wives; Tartuffe; The Miser; The Misanthrope Moliere

Wrote ‘Le Cid’ in 1636 - not a great example of neoclassical writing He was born 1606 and died 1684 Academy went through a battle to declare if Le Cid was a traditional neoclassical comedy or not Pierre Corneille

Costumes Women - Ruffles (Lace) - Cloaks - Head Coverings Men - Boots - Hats - Swords

Architecture Many of the theatres were built from tennis courts. A famous theatre of this time includes Comédie-Française which was the first national theatre. Most of the theatres were useable by temporary or permanent troupes. Decoration featues low relief plaster decoration. Décor Simultané- unique type of staging used in the era in which all scenes were simultaneously in view. The Chambre a Quatre Portstes- a room with four doors typical for a comedy. Some other famous theatres were Plais Royal.

Bibliography http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/spd130et/neocfrance.htm http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Balcony/7634/french_neoclassicism.htm http://www.towson.edu/~quick/french.html http://homepage.smc.edu/adair-lynch_terrin/TA%205/FrenchNeoClass.htm School Of Wives by Moliere http://www.pgtw.bc.ca/Posters/school.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.pgtw.bc.ca/past60s.htm&h=600&w=388&sz=45&tbnid=Yw9EFoFARYIJ:&tbnh=133&tbnw=86&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dschool%2Bfor%2Bwives%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8 http://www.ctcinc.org/repphotos/School88.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ctcinc.org/repphotos/School.html&h=360&w=243&sz=27&tbnid=iUVanXcZb7IJ:&tbnh=116&tbnw=78&start=3&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dschool%2Bfor%2Bwives%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8 http://www.scr.org/season/01-02season/images/schoollogo.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.scr.org/season/01-02season/school.html&h=294&w=232&sz=13&tbnid=u5t2S8IS2zUJ:&tbnh=110&tbnw=87&start=14&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dschool%2Bfor%2Bwives%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8 www.warwick.ac.uk/ French Neoclassical Video Monologues by Moliere