The Theatre Industry and Cultures of Consumption

Abstract

Although the theatre industry developed mainly from the nineteenth century onwards, Parisian theatres in Molière’s time already had some aspects of modern commercial entertainment – developing strategies to generate additional income and revenue through private performances, for example. This chapter examines how companies competed to position themselves as leaders in the Parisian market. It assesses the seasonal programming and level of success of the plays that were performed, examining the knock-on effect of increased competition on the Hôtel de Bourgogne in the 1660s, and shows the spending and investment choices of Molière’s troupe. As a commercial enterprise, the troupe aimed to attract Parisian audiences while continuing to please the court. It paid, therefore, particular attention to its facilities and services in the capital, and travelled outside Paris to participate in court festivities. The company had to juggle its duty to the King, for whom sumptuous and expensive entertainments were a means of showing his power and influencing other European courts, and to its bourgeois Parisian clients, who provided it with a regular income and could not, therefore, be neglected. In this respect Molière proved to be a wise man, becoming a wealthy entrepreneur of spectacles.