August Play: Le Favori

ETC Discovers: Le Favori

August 05, 2024

Each month, we’ll highlight a play & writer from our last list –– and we’re delighted to bring you…

Le Favori (The Favorite)

by Marie-Catherine Desjardins

If you’re looking to explore the transactional nature of relationships when status is on the line…

Hear it in Chicago!

Midsommer Flight partners with us this month for a reading of Le Favori, in a new translation by Hedgepig Research Committee member James Hyett! Join us Monday, August 12th at The Understudy! 

Marie-Catherine Desjardins

aka Madame de Villedieu (1640-1683) was the first woman to have her plays professionally staged and reviewed in the French capital. Following the divorce of her parents in 1655, the teenaged Marie-Catherine moved to Paris with her mother, where she quickly garnered wealthy benefactors through her literary prowess. She became known in the leading salons for her poetic talent – enough to hire a literary agent. Le Favori was first performed for King Louis XIV and his court in 1665, breaking barriers and legitimizing dramatic writing as a pursuit for French women. A prolific writer, she produced 20 novels as well as a poetry collection and several plays over her lifetime.

Listen to the podcast for more info

Get the download!

Hear more about the play, the writer, and why we love it on this month’s episode of This Is A Classic! and hosted by curators Gagarin and Skye Pagon, and with a scene by Dorothea Gloria & Samanthia Nixon!

This Month’s Partner Reading:

August 12 - Le Favori 

with Chicago’s Midsommer Flight

Directed by LaKecia Harris

Featuring Chad Bay, Amy Malcom, Stephanie Mattos, Jack Morsovillo, Koshie Mills, Ebby Offord, and Joshua Pennington

Expand the Canon is sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the NYSCA-A.R.T./New York Creative Opportunity Fund (A Statewide Theatre Regrant Program), and the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC).

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