“The duty of comedy being to correct men by entertaining them, I believed that I had nothing better to do than to attack the vices of the century with ridiculous paintings,” wrote Molière.
The master prankster believed that art is the antidote to the darkness of the world. What the author Emmanuelle Jimenez aptly illustrates in Le roi danse, her new play inspired by the film of the same name by Gérard Corbiau, itself based on the novel Lully ou le musician du soleil. A very successful show that will entertain audiences young and old.
The story tells of the glory years of Molière and the composer Lully, at the time when the two virtuosos shone at the court of Louis XIV. The meeting between the Sun King, Lully and Molière is quite unique. This atypical and powerful trio has promoted music, ballet and theater like no other in the history of art. However, if the Sun King allowed the two great artists to shine, they also experienced contempt from their society. Art does not flirt with power with impunity…
Skillfully directed by Michel-Maxime Legault, this production by Théâtre Denise-Pelletier combines light and darkness to address an artistic ideal that is as noble as it is difficult to achieve.
Simon Landry-Désy (Lully) and Jean-François Nadeau (Molière) are extraordinary! They don’t just interpret Lully and Molière, they touch the soul of their characters and make them evolve before our eyes. The scene where Nadeau presents a farce in front of the king and his court is highly comical. We feel Nadeau’s experience and gift as an improviser in this hilarious acting number that borders on genius. The same goes for Landry-Désy, when he quarrels with Molière, playing a memorable scene of anger that terrifies us!
Mattis Savard-Verhoeven plays a frail and agile Louis XIV, who lacks a little authority. The wonderful Marie-Thérèse Fortin (Anne of Austria), Marcel Pomerlo and Sharon Ibgui complete this effective cast. The sober set by Jean Bard, magnificently lit by lighting designer Sonoyo Nishikawa, is a setting that leaves plenty of room for the actors to play. An almost flawless production.