Les Fourberies de Scapin (“Scapin’s Schemings”), 1671
Les Fourberies de Scapin is a farce in three acts with a set of stock characters. The idea is simple: a prankster of a servant (Scapin) tricks an old obsessive and ridiculous man (Géronte) to do exactly the opposite of what he intended to do. Of course the ending is happy for the young lovers of the play, and punishing for Géronte, the old villain in this farce.
Don’t look for social satire in this comedy. Through his antics and his trickery Scapin is there to make us laugh. Pure and simple. And Molière, le premier farceur de France (“France’s master joker”) played the part of Scapin.