Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/03/2014
6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Location
max muller bhavan
Categories
Following the success of the first French theatre evening that the Alliance française has organized in collaboration with Jadavpur University’s department of English at the ICCR last February, we are delighted to offer you a second chance to attend to Moliere’s classic Le Malade Imaginaire, one of his best comedies, which, despite being 350 years old, still seems surprisingly modern.
The Imaginary Invalid, from the French comic genius, Molière has left spectators RIAL (rolling in the aisles laughing) at the previous two shows. Don’t miss the fun! Here is what Prof. Lal says:
“Ever since we decided on The Imaginary Invalid this year, virtually every member of the team has suffered ailments―perhaps the comic equivalent of the curse of Macbeth, for theatre history remembers this play because Moliere, acting the hypochondriac lead, began coughing uncontrollably during the finale of its fourth show in 1673, managed to complete the performance, but died hours later. It could also be a Hippocratic curse on Moliere’s lampoon of 17th-century medical practitioners. We, of course, love our far more effective and conscientious 21st-century doctors. Like Moliere, our primary target is hypochondria, still a bigger malady than any sickness. To emphasize the dramatic relevance, we have set it in India: please imagine yourself in French colonial Chandernagore.
The Imaginary Invalid also exemplifies the comedie-ballet, Moliere’s invention incorporating song-and-dance interludes between acts, which forms an early step in the development of the musical. We have actually gone back to the original scores composed by Marc Antoine Charpentier that have survived, just rearranging them for our times. All the songs are sung live.”
The play (duration: two hours) will be staged on Monday 10March 2014, at 6:30 pm, at Max Mueller Bhavan (8 Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata 700 019).
The evening is open to all, on a first come, first served basis: don’t be late !
