Molière (born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin in 1622) was a French playwright and actor-manager. Molière's main achievement was in raising the standard of French comedy to a level commensurate with French tragedy. In doing so he created a body of work that would continue to be performed for the next three centuries, providing generation after generation of performers with some of their finest roles.
Monsieur Jordan is greedy for culture at all costs and aspired to dizzy social heights. Molière's ferociously funny interchanges between the gullible hero and a succession of dancing masters, philosophy tutors, dubious tailors and penniless aristocrats make this a hugely enjoyable play which exposes the hypocrisy of the connoisseur.
This adaptation of Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme was premiered at the National Theatre to great acclaim.