About the Show

Contemporary adaptation of Molière’s classic about a novelist who rejects social conventions.

In this contemporary reimagining of Molière’s The Misanthrope, a brilliant novelist named Alice confronts the cultural imperatives of kindness and respect. As she speaks her uncompromising truths, her professional and personal relationships begin to unravel, illuminating the tension between integrity and societal expectation.

The production features award-winning actor Sandra Oh in the title role, joined by Paul Chahidi and Abigail Cruttenden. The adaptation is by playwright Martin Crimp, known for his reworkings and original plays including Cyrano de Bergerac (adapted) and Attempts on Her Life, and is directed by Indhu Rubasingham, the National Theatre’s artistic director whose credits include The Father and the Assassin.

Presented by the National Theatre at its Lyttelton Theatre in London, this staging places a 17th-century comedy of manners in dialogue with contemporary cultural debates. The creative team also includes Robert Jones (set and costume design), Tim Lutkin (lighting), Anna Meredith (music), and Alexander Caplen (sound).

Critic Reviews (6)

"Oh proves as watchable on stage as she is on screen. But while it piles on a number of hot-button topics, once it's thrown them in the ring it merely leaves them there."
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"This reworking of the 17th-century classic simpers in its satire and woos in its human drama."
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"It often feels like there is an Oh-shaped hole in this Molière update"
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"Sandra Oh struggles, but so would anyone in the fatally cluttered romp that is Martin Crimp's revision of a revision of the Molière play."
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"Often, Alice feels less like the scourge of a society gone to rot and more like a dispassionate analyst."
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"Sandra Oh makes a brilliantly bitter Alice."
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