Comédie-Française

Timeline

1. 1673–1680Hôtel de Guénégaud theater, Paris · ParisAfter Molière's death in 1673, his troupe merged with the company of the Théâtre du Marais and moved to the Hôtel de Guénégaud on the left bank of the Seine, continuing to perform and receiving a royal pension. This merger prepared the company and repertoire for the further merger with the Hôtel de Bourgogne in 1680, forming a single national troupe.
2. 1680Versailles · VersaillesLouis XIV issued a lettre de cachet at Versailles ordering the Hôtel de Bourgogne and Hôtel de Guénégaud troupes to merge into a single company, forbidding other French comedy troupes from establishing themselves in Paris and its suburbs, with enforcement supervised by the lieutenant general of police, La Reynie. The Comédie-Française thereby obtained a national monopoly.
3. 1680–1689Théâtre de la Rue Saint-Germain-des-Fossés · ParisThe merged troupe adopted the works of Molière, Racine, and Corneille as its standing repertoire, implemented the shareholder-actor system, and held an exclusive right to perform French comedy in Paris. In 1689 it moved to a new venue on the Rue Saint-Germain-des-Fossés, and the national theater's organization and premises stabilized during this period.