The text and the game above all for the Miser version Jérôme Deschamps in Montpellier

Jérôme Deschamps as Harpagon in Molière's The Miser. Hans Lucas – Juliette Parisot

The actor and director who plays the role of Harpagon has chosen a refined production favoring text and action. L'The Miser is performed for three evenings at the Opéra Comédie. 

After Bérénice by Racine orchestrated by Roméo Castellucci at the end of February, which may have disturbed the spectators, some even shouting that&rsquo ;we give them back Racine after timidly applauding Isabelle Huppert, the European Theater Center gives way to Molière. Gone is the tragedy with its vocoder responses, make way for comedy with L'Avare, directed by Jérôme Deschamps. It seems that he has a crush on the most famous French playwright, he who had already presented Le Bourgeois Gentilhommein 2019 in Montpellier. The one who experienced television success in the 1990s with "Les Deschiens", a troupe founded with his accomplice Macha Makeieff, is above all a man of the theater. For this play given three evenings, the former artistic director of the Théâtre de Nîmes is not only directing but also taking on the role of Harpagon.

A sickly greed

Let us remember, Harpagon is a character characterized by his unhealthy greed. He's chasing every penny. He carefully keeps his treasure in a cassette which will be at the heart of the outcome. He accumulates as much as possible and spends as little as possible. "Money! money! money! Ah! They only have this word on their lips, money!". The famous line is enough to make you laugh. "Harpagon is convinced, money is the key to happiness in this world, and management is a religion, a fundamental commitment" Jérôme Deschamps tells us in the note of intent. As an almost undisputed master of character comedy, Molière draws attention to this widower who is determined to pull the strings of his daughter and son's marriages. By coveting his bride. For his daughter, he came to an agreement with an acquaintance who offered to marry her without a dowry. Perfect.

The text and the game

"We have to laugh, but we also have to understand things" warns Jérôme Deschamps. We must not stop at this vitriolic portrait of the character, but give him a certain humanity. Molière "imagines a prose comedy that addresses themes as current as domestic tyranny, forced marriage, individualism or misogyny" explains the actor and stage director. For this play where the excesses of a blind passion for money are thwarted, Jérôme Deschamps chose to favor the text and the&#39 ;action, and not to place the latter in "too precise a context". Thinking of Jean Vilar, Antoine Vitez and Peter Brook, the decor is reduced to the strict minimum. Enough to focus on the actors who wear costumes and use props prepared by Macha Makeieff.

The Miser. Thursday the 14th and Friday the 15th at 8 p.m., Saturday the 16th at 5 p.m. Opéra Comédie, Place de la Comédie, Montpellier. Price: 20/24/30 €. If the date is sold out, it is recommended to try your luck the same evening.