Poquelin II

Our absurd traits

In 2004, tg STAN dived into the oeuvre of Molière, resulting in the hilarious Poquelin. In this montage production, they adapted Médecin malgré lui, Sganarelle and Le Malade Imaginaire, among others. Poquelin became a milestone in the STAN repertoire, and toured extensively in Dutch and French.

Molière once said: “I want to focus on the absurd traits of humanity and to depict the shortcomings of the world in a theatrically amusing way.” Reason enough for the STAN actors to delve into his works again after more than ten years. And they are not alone: along with Kuno Bakker, Els Dottermans, Willy Thomas and Stijn Van Opstal, they are adapting Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme and L’Avare. In the former text, Molière satirizes a rich middle class man who attempts to imitate the lifestyle of the aristocracy. The latter piece is a tragi-comic tale about avarice, the perverted exercise of power, generational conflict and lies. The absurd financial and moral deals with which we bombard one another form a leitmotif throughout the production.