L'etourdi Ou Les Contre-temps

At Acte 2 Théâtre: a living encounter with Molière

At Acte 2 Théâtre, we welcome audiences to rediscover L’Étourdi ou les Contre-Temps in an intimate setting that puts language, rhythm, and the joy of live performance at the forefront. Our stage is built for proximity: you feel the breath of the actors, the ripple of laughter, and the quicksilver turns of a plot that keeps outpacing its own schemes. This early Molière gem—rooted in the verve of commedia dell’arte—thrives in a room like ours, where every glance and gesture reads with precision and where the musicality of the verse can land with as much clarity as a deft piece of physical comedy. We are delighted to host a staging that honors the play’s agile architecture: rapid misunderstandings, audacious ruses, and those delicious contretemps that set hearts, fortunes, and pride wobbling. For us, L’Étourdi ou les Contre-Temps is not just a classic; it is a live experiment in timing and complicity, a collective game played between performers and spectators, where the next turn is always closer—and funnier—than expected.

Current artistic momentum around a classic

Programming L’Étourdi ou les Contre-Temps at Acte 2 Théâtre aligns with a wider artistic conversation that has intensified in recent years, as audiences and makers reassess the modernity of Molière’s world. Following the renewed focus sparked by recent national commemorations, the appetite for productions that spotlight his early comic engine has grown. We see it in the way artists reinvest in mask work and ensemble timing, and in the way contemporary design speaks to the play’s restless energy: nimble sets that transform on a breath, costumes that wink at period codes without calcifying them, and musical textures that underscore the pulse of mischief. In our programming, this momentum matters because it affirms a belief we share with the creative team: that classic comedy is not a museum object but a rehearsal-room provocation, a chance to measure today’s reflexes against enduring human contradictions. Audiences in Lyon continue to respond to that immediacy—especially in a room like ours, where the smallest detail is legible and the laughter can fold back into the text, sharpening its irony. Hosting L’Étourdi ou les Contre-Temps here means joining that ongoing artistic renewal, inviting spectators to track how language, movement, and ensemble craft keep a 17th‑century spark brilliantly present.

From our perspective as a venue, the thrill of this production is in its precision. The dramaturgy is built on momentum: Mascarille’s audacity, Lélie’s impetuousness, and the delicate negotiations of desire and status that ricochet through each plan. In performance, that means choreography as much as dialogue—the calibrated missteps, the recovered poise, the sly aside that breaks a plan just as it seems to settle. We expect our audience to savor the contrast between verbal wit and physical invention, between the mechanics of deception and the humane tenderness that peeks through the mask. The staging’s scale suits Acte 2 Théâtre: swift changes, concentrated focus, and a playfulness that invites you to track every misread cue. For us, the artistic news is simple and invigorating: L’Étourdi ou les Contre-Temps continues to catalyze new conversations about character, power, and chance, inspiring ensembles to refine their tools—timing, ensemble listening, rhythmic speech—while giving spectators the rare pleasure of watching craft operate in real time. In a city that cherishes theatre, this meeting of classic nerve and contemporary alertness is precisely what we want our stage to amplify.