Comédie-Française - Dom Juan

Jonny was anxious to see a play staged by this famous theatre company, especially one written by its most celebrated alumnus, Molière. Jonny read a rather lackluster translation by Richard Wilbur (who has written some magnificent English versions of other Molière plays) in preparation, and when he arrived at the theatre, he was surprised to find a stripped-down venue with a lot of blonde wood that looked like it had been designed by Ikea. A fellow audience member (who was fascinated that Jonny was seeing a French play despite speaking almost no French), explained that this was only a temporary venue used while their main theatre was being renovated. Jonny was relived to hear that, and even more pleasantly surprised when Molière's comedy came to roaring life on the stage with a magnificent performance by the cast, especially Loïc Corbery as Don Juan and Julie Sicard as the peasant Charlotte.