The misanthrope

A comedy. Brilliant. And therefore uncomfortable. Premiered in 1666 (bring on the conspiracy theories), the play ironically and lucidly exposes the social hypocrisy of the era.

Alceste is unable to tolerate falsehood and flattery. He defends the truth, even when it hurts, and therefore clashes with everyone around him. His honesty, however, does not make him a hero; it makes him tragic. Molière dismantles easy morality and shows that, in a world governed by appearances, sincerity can be a form of madness. 

The Misanthrope is a comedy about ourselves. Laughter, a weapon. Almost 400 years have passed. So much has changed. But at the same time, we have changed so little.

Molière (1622–1673), the stage name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, was the greatest playwright of classical France and one of the greatest satirists in literary history. He created a theatre that combined intelligence, humour and social criticism, revealing the moral contradictions of his time. His work—which includes Tartuffe, The Miser and The Imaginary Invalid—exposed the ridiculousness of the powerful, the hypocrites and the supposedly virtuous, which earned him censorship and scandals.