Theatres as Economic Concerns: Molière, the Hôtel Guénégaud and the Comédie-Française

Clarke, Jan

Abstract

Jan Clarke’s chapter examines the period of Molière and his contemporaries from the perspective of theatrical establishments. Focusing on three companies – Molière’s troupe (1658–73), the Hôtel Guénégaud company (1673–80) and the Comédie-Française (from 1680 onwards) – Clarke highlights a number of interrelated factors: the prime importance of a theatre’s location within the capital; financial structures ranging from royal patronage and ticket sales to concessions, for example, for the refreshment booth, as well as theatres’ multiple expenditures, including for rent, heating, transport and above all company members’ pensions. Across the analysis, Clarke illustrates how a theatre not only provided a living for company members and their employees but also contributed to the livelihoods of myriad other associates, from the most skilled to the most humble, the majority of whom remain anonymous, while others have left only fleeting traces in contemporary documents.

Citation

Clarke, J. (2024). Theatres as Economic Concerns: Molière, the Hôtel Guénégaud and the Comédie-Française. In C. Finburgh Delijani, & C. Biet (Eds.), A New History of Theatre in France (129-145). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108908566.007

• Online Publication Date: Oct 24, 2024
• Publication Date: Oct 24, 2024
• Deposit Date: Oct 24, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 25, 2025
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 129-145
• Book Title: A New History of Theatre in France
• Chapter Number: 6
• ISBN: 9781108908566
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108908566.007
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2982133