Action one
Paris century Louis XIV. At the junction of the two latrines, at the curtain by which they are separated, are huge harpsichords. In the first restroom - a lot of greasy candles. In the second lavatory on the table there is only a lantern with colored glass and a large crucifix, in front of which a lamp burns. The whole seal of extraordinary excitement. Charles-Varle de Lagrange, an actor nicknamed Register, not employed in the play, sits in a restroom, lost in thought. He is in a dark cloak, young, handsome and important.
In the first restroom, Bud, a candle extinguisher in the theater and a servant of Moliere, crouched down the gap in the curtain. Eugene Charlatan sticks out in the doorway. Explosions of laughter are heard, then the final rumble of laughter. From behind the curtain, the Famous Actor and playwright Jean Baptiste Pocquelin de Moliere, made up by Sganarel, shows his nose is purple with a wart. With his left hand, Moliere clings to his chest. The door swings open, the actor du Croisy scrimmed by Polisinel runs in and says that the king is applauding. Moliere returns to the scene and reads offhand poems dedicated to the King of France, Louis XIV, in which he calls the King the Sun of France. The king thanks Moliere and remains to watch another sideshow.
Bud lowers the curtain. Moliere appears in the restroom and grabs the servant by the throat, accusing him that “under the king the candle fell in the chandelier, waxed droplets on the floor”. Bud assures Moliere that he himself knocked the candle with a broadsword, actress Marietta Rival confirms this. Moliere cools down and gives Bud his caftan instead of the torn one. Bud leaves to remove carbon deposits with candles.
Moliere asks Charlatan what is the secret of his focus. The charlatan sits at some distance from the harpsichord, makes such movements in the air as if playing, and the keys in the harpsichord are pressed, the harpsichord plays gently. The charlatan does not agree to reveal his secret to Moliere and leaves. Moliere returns to the scene.
The portiere, leading to the second restroom, is pushed aside and the actress Armanda Bejart appears. Her facial features are charming, she looks like her older sister Madeleine Bejart, also an actress. Armand is about seventeen. Lagrange stops Armand and begs her not to marry Moliere. Armanda makes an attempt to remove Lagrange and go through. Lagrange takes out his sword and threatens to stab the girl if she does not refuse marriage. Armanda says that she is in connection with her fiancé, otherwise she can’t do anything and whispers something to Lagrange’s ear. Lagrange sheaths the sword, says that he wanted to save her and leaves.
Armanda stays in the restroom. Moliere enters; hugs her, and at the same instant Bud appears. Moliere sends him away, takes off his nose and wig, kisses Armand. She whispers something in his ear. “I want to live another century: with you!” You will be the first, you will be a great actress. But remember: if you do not keep your oath, you will take everything from me, ”Moliere tells her. Armanda swears crucifixion in eternal love.
They knock on the door. The lovers hastily agree to meet here, "when the theater goes out." Moliere opens and enters Bouton, Lagrange and the Marquis d, Orsigny, a duelist named "One-eyed Pray" in a suit of the Company of Black Musketeers with a slanting black bandage on his face. One-eyed presents Moliere with the king's award - 5,000 livres. Moliere takes himself 500 livres, and the rest is divided equally between the actors, then leaves to spend the king. One-eyed begins to flirt with Armanda. Wanting to stop him, Bud meets in their conversation. Moliere returns, and One-eyed takes off. Moliere sends Armand and orders to call Madeleine Bejart. When Madeleine arrives, Moliere tells her that he intends to marry Armand. Madeline kneels and begs Moliere to marry "anyone, but not Armand." Moliere tells Madeleine that he is obliged to do this. Then Madeleine announces her retirement from the theater and asks Moliere not to tell Armand that they had a romance. Moliere makes a promise and leaves.
Madeleine remains. Lagrange enters. He alone is initiated into the secret of Madeleine. Lagrange promises Madeleine that no one will ever know her secret. Madeleine says goodbye and leaves. Lagrange puts a lantern on the table, sits down and writes down the events of the past day in his register book. Then he lays down his pen and says: “The theater is a terrible event: Jean-Baptiste Pocquel de Moliere, not knowing that Armanda is not a sister, but the daughter of Madame Madeleine Bejart, married her. This cannot be written, but in horror I put a black cross. ” Lagrange takes the lantern and leaves like a dark knight.
For some time, darkness and silence, then the cover of the harpsichord rises, and the famous actor-lover Zachariah Muarron comes out of it. This is a boy of about fifteen with an unusually beautiful, vicious and exhausted face. Tattered, dirty. He whimpers, complains that he did not sleep for two days, then falls and falls asleep. The light of a flashlight floats, and, sneaking, Moliere leads Armand in a dark cloak. Armanda is frightened of the boy and squeals. Muarron wakes up and shakes with horror. Moliere menacingly asks who he is. The boy replies that he is the unfortunate Zachariah Muarron. Moliere laughs - he understood the charlatan's secret.
Action two
Reception of the king. At the card table, the famous player Marquis de Lessac plays cards with Louis. A crowd of courtiers, dressed with extraordinary pomp, watches de Lessac. Before a pile of gold coins, sweat flows from his face. Louis is sitting alone, everyone else is standing. All without hats. Behind Louis’s armchair is One-Eyed, playing the king’s game. One-eyed notices that de Lessac plays with marked cards. The king asks One-Eyed what he should do in this case. The one-eyed replies that de Lessac “must strike the physiognomy with a candlestick” and scold. Louis calls for the Just Cobbler and tells him to scold de Lessac. The jester with pleasure carries out the order. “Put the Marquis de Lessac for one month in prison. Then he will send him to the estate - along with the money, ”the king orders. De Lessac is being taken away.
In front of Louis, as if from under the ground, appears a dining table with one appliance. The archbishop of Paris, Marquis de Charron, appears at the fireplace and asks the king for permission to introduce him to a wandering preacher, Bartholomew's father. The door opens and Father Bartholomew appears. He is barefoot, shaggy, girdled with a rope, his eyes are crazy. He is dancing and singing. Everyone is surprised, except Louis. Brother Fidelity, one of the members of the Kabbalah of Scripture, a lean physiognomy with a long nose, stands out from the crowd of courtiers and sneaks up to Sharron. Bartholomew, referring to the king, calls Moliere the antichrist and calls: “Burn him along with his godless creation“ Tartuffe ”in the square. The whole world of the faithful sons of the church demands this! ” Louis is annoyed, he is angry with the word "requires", he orders his father Bartholomew to be imprisoned for three months. Father Bartholomew disappears.
Louis eats, then expresses a desire to speak in private with the archbishop. The courtiers with the whole crowd retreat to the stairs. Louis asks Sharron if he shares the opinion of Father Bartholomew about Moliere. “Sire, this is Satan,” Sharron replies firmly. He flatters the king and begs him to intercede for the religion that Moliere insulted with his Tartuffe. “The impudent actor is talented ... I will try to correct him, he can serve to the glory of reign. But if he commits yet another insolence, I will punish, ”says Louis. Then he allows the release of Bartholomew's father from prison after three days.
Moliere enters. The king invites him to dinner, orders him to give him a chair. Moliere, turning pale, takes great honor. Louis tells Moliere that in Tartuffe he is not careful with clerics. The king allows you to play a play in the Palais Royal, provided that in the future the work of Moliere goes the right way. Moliere rejoices. Louis grants him another grace - the right to make a royal bed. Moliere grabs two candelabra from the table and walks in front of the king. Both are hiding.
Everyone disappears, and only Sharron and Brother Fidelity remain on the scene, both black. They are plotting some kind of intrigue against Moliere. In this they should be helped by a woman who will lure the person they need in their network. One-eyed enters. Sharron and brother Loyalty disappear. A jester approaches a one-eyed man and gives him a note from a masked woman. The one-eyed thoughtfully leaves. The lights begin to go out. The receding voices are heard: "The king is sleeping!" The jester lies on the card table, wraps himself in the curtain with emblems and falls asleep.
The palace disappears, and Moliere's apartment appears. Day. Muarron, a very handsome, lavishly dressed man of about twenty-two, plays the harpsichord. Armanda in a chair listens. They are rehearsing a new play. Muarron calls Armand mother, and Moliere - father. They adopted him. Muarron considers himself the best actor in Paris. During the rehearsal, Muarron seduces Armanda, leads her into her bedroom and locks the door with a key. Armanda curses the day Muarron was found in the harpsichord.
Moliere enters, calls to Armando. The key in the lock instantly turns. Moliere rushes at the door, Armanda screams, then runs in Muarron, holding his wig in his hand. In anger, Moliere expels Muarron from the house and from the troupe. Muarron threatens Moliere, says he owns his secret. Reminds of Madeleine Bejart, who is near death. Moliere grabs a gun from the wall, and Muarron disappears. Moliere asks Armand: “Be patient a little longer, I will set you free soon.” I don’t want to die alone. ” Armand comes out in tears, swears that he will not leave Moliere. Moliere regrets having kicked out Muarron. He does not want a scandal and is going to return it.
Action Three
A stone basement illuminated by a three-candle chandelier. Masked members of the Kabbalah of Holy Scripture are sitting at the table; in a chair separately, without a mask, sits Sharron. Two in black - people of an eerie appearance - enter Muarron with his hands tied and a blindfold. His hands are untied, the bandage is removed. On the morning of this day, Muarron slandered Moliere, and now Sharron forces him to repeat his denunciation at witnesses. Muarron tells how a few years ago he sat in a harpsichord and heard the voice of Lagrange. The voice said that "Mr. de Moliere did not marry Madeleine Bejart's sister, but her daughter."
Muarron is blindfolded, his hands tied and led away. Sharron pushes the hood over his face and hides in the gloom. Brother Fidelity opens the door. A Stranger in a mask appears, who leads the One-Eyed hand. His eyes were blindfolded. One-eyed removes the bandage, looks around and grabs the sword deciding that he was lured into a trap. Brother Strength and Brother Loyalty reassure him. They tell the marquise that due to the fault of Moliere, they laugh at him at court, because Moliere wrote the image of Don Giovanni from him. One-eyed changes face with rage. They blindfolded him again, and the Stranger led him away. Sharron declares the session of the Cabal of Scripture closed.
The immense cathedral. Little Confessional Archbishop. Armanda and Lagrange appear, lead under Madeleine's arms. She is gray, sick. Madeleine enters the confessional, Armanda and Lagrange sit on a bench, and the darkness swallows them. Sharron appears in the confessional and tells Madeleine that he himself decided to profess her. Under pressure from Sharron Madeline, he admits: "I lived with two and got a daughter, Armanda, and tormented all my life, not knowing whose she was ... When she grew up, I brought her to Paris and passed her off as my sister." Sharron forgives her sins and asks to call on Armand. Lagrange takes Madeleine away. Armanda enters the confessional. Sharron arises scary, in a horned miter, baptizes Armand with the reverse devilish cross. “She is your mother. I forgive you. But today, run from him, run, ”says Sharron. Armanda falls and remains motionless on the threshold of the confessional. Sharron disappears.
Day. Reception of the king. Louis is at the table. Before him is the dark and tormented Sharron. A fair cobbler sits on the floor, fixing a shoe. Sharron tells the king about Moliere's crime. Louis orders to call Mr. de Moliere and bring Muarron. Muarron enters. He is intimidated and looks like he was sleeping without undressing. Louis, whom he sees so close for the first time, makes a strong impression on him. The king announces to Muarron that his denunciation has been confirmed by the investigation and asks what reward he wants to receive. Muarron asks for a seat at the Royal Theater of Burgon or at the Teatro du Marais. The king refuses him, because he is a weak actor, and gives him a place in the royal service, in the detective police.
Muarron comes out. Lagrange appears in the other doors, introduces Moliere and immediately disappears. Moliere in a strange way: clothes are in a mess, his face is lead, his hands are shaking, his sword hangs crookedly. He complains to the king about his health, which was shaken due to a heart attack that happened when his wife left him. Louis announces his decision: “I forbid you to appear at court, I forbid you to play Tartuffe.” Only so that your troupe does not starve to death, I allow you to play your funny comedies in the Palais Royal, but nothing more ... I deprive you of the king’s protection. ” Having said these words, Louis leaves.
Sharron enters and stares at Moliere for a long time. The archbishop's eyes flickered with satisfaction. Moliere draws his sword in anger. One-eyed with a cane comes out from behind the door and starts a quarrel with Moliere, calling him a liar. At that moment Lagrange enters. Moliere in anger challenges One-Eyed to a duel. Sharron and Lagrange are trying to stop them. One-eyed rushes at Moliere. Moliere, waving his sword, hides at the table. One-eyed jumps up on the table. Moliere throws his sword, drops to the floor, says that he is sick and does not understand anything. The one-eyed states that he will kill Moliere after the first performance. The jester suddenly breaks down and disappears. Lagrange raises Moliere from the floor and carries away.
Sharron with burning eyes asks One-Eyed why he did not stab Moliere. They swear. Sharron suddenly spits at One-Eyed. The one-eyed man was so dumbfounded that he spat at Sharron. The door opens, an agitated buffoon flies in, followed by Louis. The quarrels are so passionate that they don’t immediately stop spitting. Four look at each other stupidly for a long time. “Sorry to interfere,” Louis says and hides, closing the door behind him.
Action four
Moliere's apartment. Evening. A mess. Scattered manuscripts. Moliere in a wig and bathrobe sits in a huge armchair. Bud in another. On the table are two swords and a gun. On the other table is dinner and wine, to which the Bud is applied from time to time. Lagrange in a dark cloak walks to and fro. He reproaches himself for having discovered the secret of Muarron. Moliere reassures him. The creak of the stairs is heard. He is in some kind of dirty jacket, worn, unshaven and half-drunk, in the hand a lantern. Recognizing Muarron, Lagrange grabs a pistol from the table. Moliere hits Lagrange on the arm. Lagrange shoots and hits the ceiling, then rushes at Muarron, knocks him to the floor and begins to choke. Moliere and Bud drag Lagrange from Muarron. Lagrange threatens to kill him. Muarron kneels in front of Moliere and says that no later than midnight he will hang himself under his windows, and that he won’t even look at Armanda. Moliere says that Armand was gone, and he forgives Muarron and returns to his house. Muarron is crying. Lagrange accuses Moliere of excessive gentleness. Moliere informs Muarron that he was "sent down a one-eyed musketeer dog", and the king deprived of his patronage. Muarron knows that “the master was recognized as atheist for the Tartuffe and undertakes to defend him. Lagrange and Muarron take weapons, a flashlight and go on guard. Pause.
Moliere loudly calls the King of France a tyrant. Bud reassures him, tries to silence him, is afraid that he and the master will be hanged for these words in the square.Moliere tells him to pack, intending to flee to England after the last performance. The door opens and the head of the old woman Rene, the decrepit nanny of Moliere, appears in it. She says that a nun has come to do theater costumes. Moliere orders her to come to the Palais Royal tomorrow at the end of the performance. Renee is hiding. Moliere suddenly climbs headlong under the covers. The bud begins to glorify the king so loudly that even Muarron hears it on the street.
Lavatory actors in the Palais Royal. The lamp at the crucifix and the green lantern also burn. Behind the curtain, a rumble and whistles are heard. Moliere sits in an armchair in a dressing gown and a cap, in makeup with a caricatured nose. Moliere is in a strange state, as if drunk. Next to him is Lagrange and actor Philibert du Croisy in black suits of doctors, but without makeup. Muarron stands motionless in the distance. Bud runs in with the message that the gatekeeper, wounded by the musketeers, is dead. Lagrange reports that "the theater is full of stowaway musketeers and unknown personalities." Bud begs Moliere not to finish the play, but to run. Then he reports that the theater is One-eyed. Behind the curtains is a whistle and a roar. Moliere fearfully rushes to Muarron and hides in his cloak. Muarron is silent, hugging Moliere.
The door opens and Marietta Rival rushes in. She is in an original suit, on her head is a doctor's hat, glasses with wheels. Rival takes a long look at Moliere and says that we need to play. Moliere climbs out from under the cloak and apologizes to everyone. Rival says: “Now, after your last sentence, we will lower you into the hatch, we will hide in my lavatory until morning, and at dawn you will leave Paris.” Moliere agrees.
Du Croisy, Lagrange, Muarron and Rival are hiding. Moliere takes off his bathrobe. There is a huge bed on the stage. A prompter appears in the booth. Moliere, changing dramatically, with extraordinary ease flies up on the bed, fits, covered with a blanket. The bud lifts the main curtain. Actors play a scene from the play "Imaginary Sick." During the performance, One-eyed suddenly appears from the box, sits aboard her and freezes in a waiting pose.
Suddenly Moliere calls to Madeleine and falls. The music is silent. A terrible nun appears in Moliere's restroom, quickly collects all Moliere's costumes and disappears with them. Confusion on stage. Lagrange excitedly tells the public that the performance cannot be completed. The public is demanding money back. Muarron takes out his sword and calls the One-Eyed dirty beast. One-eyed, taking out his sword, rises to the stage and goes with a smooth feline gait to meet Muarron. Having caught up with Moliere, he looks at him, sticks his sword in the floor, turns and leaves the stage. Prompter in the booth is crying. The actors rush to Moliere, surround him with a crowd, and he disappears. The bud lowers the curtains rushing after the group blowing Moliere. The curtain swells, the curious try to climb onto the stage. Du Croisy puts out the chandelier. The buzz in the hall abates.
The scene is plunged into darkness. Then a lantern comes up - there is a dark Lagrange. He goes to his lavatory, opens the book and writes: “February 17th ... At ten o’clock in the evening, Mr. de Moliere, playing the role of Argan, fell on the stage and was immediately kidnapped without repentance by an implacable death ... The reason for this was the king’s disgrace and black bondage. " Writes and fades away in the darkness.
