The Comédie-Française or Théâtre français is the only state theater in France. It is also one of the few to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the Ier arrondissement of Paris.

The best-known playwright associated with the Comédie-Française is Molière. He was considered the patron of French actors; however, he died seven years before the birth of La Maison de Molière, as the Comédie-Française is often styled.

The Comédie-Française was founded by a decree of Louis XIV on 1680-08-24 to merge the only two Parisian acting troupes of the time, the troupe of the Hôtel Guénégaud and that of the Hôtel de Bourgogne. The repertoire at that time consisted of the collection of theatrical works by Molière and Jean Racine, along with a few works by Pierre Corneille, Paul Scarron and Jean de Rotrou.

On 1793-09-03 , during the French revolution, the Comédie-Française was closed by order of the Committee of Public Safety, and the actors were imprisoned.

On 1799-05-31 , the new government made the Salle Richelieu available and allowed the actors to reconstitute the troupe.

The Comédie-Française today has a repertoire of 3,000 works and three theatres in Paris (Salle Richelieu, next to the Palais Royal; Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier; Studio-Théâtre).

External link

• Comédie-Française's website