2016 Show – The Doctor in spite of Himself and The Bald Soprano

The Doctor in spite of Himself illustration
Illustration by Pierre Brissart for a 1682 edition of The Doctor in spite of himself

Our 2016 show in French was a double bill of Molière’s comedy The Doctor in spite of Himself (“Le Médecin malgré lui”), and the celebrated absurdist play The Bald Soprano (“La Cantatrice chauve”) by Eugène Ionesco.

The Doctor in spite of Himself (“Le Médecin malgré lui”) is a three-act farce in prose that was first performed on August 6, 1666 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris where it enjoyed great success. One of the main themes it satirizes is medicine in 17th century France.

The Bald Soprano (“La Cantatrice chauve”) is a one-act Theatre of the Absurd comedy by Eugène Ionesco that opened on May 11, 1950 at the Théâtre des Noctambules in Paris. It was Ionesco’s first play and has become one of the most performed French plays ever, it having been performed continually (as of 2016) at one theatre in Paris since 1957.

Poster in front of the Théâtre de la Huchette where The Bald Soprano has played since 1957. Photo by Philippe Alès CC-BY-SA

For more on the plays, see the Wikipedia articles about The Doctor in spite of Himself and The Bald Soprano. There are also Wikipedia articles about Molière and Eugène Ionesco. The full text of The Doctor in spite of Himself in English and French as well as one-page summaries in English and French of both plays are available below. The text of The Bald Soprano is subject to copyright; however, you can find several different editions in English at the Toronto Public Library.

We gave two performances, on Friday and Saturday, April 15 & 16, 2016, at 8 PM at the George Ignatieff Theatre on the downtown campus of the University of Toronto. One-page summaries of both plays in English (available on-line below) as well as projected surtitles in English were available at both shows. One could purchase tickets on-line, right away, with seats assigned following a consultation with our box office staff beginning in early April; or one was able to contact our box office by telephone weekdays 11 AM – 5 PM starting April 1. Tickets, if any remained, were also available at the door on the night of the performances with payment by cash only.

Practical Information

Date and Time

Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16, 2016 at 8 PM
English surtitles will be shown both days

Location

George Ignatieff Theatre
Trinity College
University of Toronto
15 Devonshire Place
Toronto, ON M5S 1H8
Subway: St. George; Bedford Road exit, then 400 m on foot

Maps
Full texts of the plays
  • The Doctor in spite of Himself (“Le Médecin malgré lui”) in English in French
  • The Bald Soprano (“La Cantatrice chauve”) – subject to copyright. View editions in English at the Toronto Public Library.
One-page summaries
Miscellaneous