The School for Wives

Molière, undoubtedly one of the greatest writers of comedy in the history of theatre, won enormous success for <i>The School for Wives</i> (<i>L'Ecole des Femmes</i>) in Paris in 1662; yet this highly popular play, satirising ridiculous male attitudes to women, aroused as much hostility as critical acclaim. Arnolphe, a narrow-minded merchant hoping to marry his young ward, Agnès, is obsessed with the fear of being made a cuckold. But all his artful plans serve only to speed him towards the fate he is so desperate to avoid.<br/> Molière himself first played the hapless merchant, and this believable character in an all too believable predicament both startled and delighted his public. This highly successful translation of <i>The School for Wives</i>, directed by Sir Peter Hall, ran in the West End for six months.