High Fashion and Nightclub Energy: Dante’s Les Femmes Savantes

Molière’s critique of intellectual pretension remains relevant when stripped of its 17th century decorative lace. By focusing on the body and the visceral reality of family interactions, Emma Dante reveals the humor inherent in using culture as a tool for personal ego. Dante understands intellectual pretense, which allows her production of Les Femmes Savantes at the Théâtre du Rond-Point to be fascinating and nuanced while remaining entirely free of pretense itself.

This production marks Dante’s first collaboration with the Comédie-Française and her first time directing Molière, resulting in a world that feels immediate and alive.

My personal experience of the show felt like visiting an ultra cool nightclub and having a few amazing cocktails with no hangover the next day.

Ingenious Stage Design and Costumes

The scenography by Vanessa Sannino is both functional and visually stunning. The play begins with a meta theatrical introduction where the cast members pull incredible period costumes and perruques from hanging bags. These garments are a central feature of the production, blending historical grandeur with a worn aesthetic. The men in the play, including the patriarch Chrysale and the suitor Clitandre, wear rigid traditional dress that contrasts with the more modern clothing of the women. This visual choice highlights the artifice of the characters and the weight of theatrical history they are stepping into.

Music and Dance, Their Other Calling

The troupe of the Comédie-Française delivers performances with perfect comic timing, in-depth understanding for the text, all coupled with cool dance moves. Dante incorporates music and dance numbers that are ultra stylish, serving to entertain while significantly enriching the story. These choreographed sequences break the traditional flow of the alexandrines and highlight the specific obsessions of the characters. Elsa Lepoivre portrays Philaminte with an authoritative presence, occasionally using animalistic growls to intimidate the men in her household. Stéphane Varupenne plays Trissotin as a parasitic figure whose pedantry is portrayed through grotesque rhythmic movements.

The performance by Alix Poisson as Bélise is perfection, capturing the character’s delusions with effortless comedic timing.

Yet again, I was left with the impression that The Comédie-Française has no laggards. Every performer plays their role with complete mastery.

Molière’s Satire in a Modern Context

Dante handles Molière’s patronizing view of female intellect and his flattery of the court by leaning into the absurdity of the characters. By framing the “savantes” as figures who are trapped by their own ridiculous ambitions, she makes the playwright’s critique of their behavior feel like an entertaining character study. The production manages to keep the courtly elements and the mockery of pretension exciting by treating them as part of a larger spectacle.

Movement and Domestic Space

The domestic setting is transformed into a space of constant movement where the actors actively build and deconstruct the stage. Rather than existing within a fixed set, the cast manipulates the environment, moving furniture like velvet armchairs on wheels and handling props in a way that feels as if they are telling you the story directly.

This dynamic extends to the use of light as a physical object. In several sequences, the cast dances with handheld LED lights, using them to trace glowing patterns through the air and to illuminate wedding ceremonies. These lights provide a modern, electric contrast to the classical text, reinforcing the nightclub atmosphere and the sense of a high energy celebration.

Conclusion

I attended a performance that was being filmed to be livecast into cinemas. I hope this production makes it to as many screens as possible to help non-francophone audiences see how exciting Molière can be.

This production proves that when intellect is used solely for ego, it ceases to be a tool for progress and becomes a form of domestic tyranny. Many a teenager obsessing over Sylvia Plath (and being nasty to their parents) would do well to see this play, and Dante makes it very accessible and entertaining.