2023 Show – The Doctor in spite of Himself and The Bald Soprano

Black and white engraving from the 17th century depicting three figures from The Doctor in Spite of Himself.
Illustration by Pierre Brissart for a 1682 edition of The Doctor in spite of himself

Our 2023 show in French is 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.

Play posters outside a theatre with a commemorative plaque above.
Poster in front of the Théâtre de la Huchette where The Bald Soprano has played since 1957. Photo by Philippe Alès CC-BY-SA 4.0

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.

We will give two performances, on Friday and Saturday, April 21 & 22, 2023, at 7:30 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 will be available at both shows.

Tickets

Online

You can purchase (reserve and pay for) tickets online (starting April 10, 2023). Seats will be selected by our box office staff starting April 10, 2023, in the order in which the online purchases were made. Your tickets will be held at the theatre entrance the night of your show until you arrive.

By Email

You can reserve tickets by contacting our box office team by email starting February 26, 2023. Your tickets will be held at the theatre entrance the night of your show until 30 minutes before show time (show time is 7:30 PM, thus until 7 PM).

By Telephone

You can reserve tickets by contacting our box office team by telephone staring April 10, 2023, weekdays 11 AM – 5 PM. Your tickets will be held at the theatre entrance the night of your show until 30 minutes before show time (show time is 7:30 PM, thus until 7 PM)

At the Door

Tickets, if any remain, will also be available at the door on the nights of the performances with payment by cash only.

Practical Information

Date and Time

Friday, April 21 and Saturday, April 22, 2023 at 7:30 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