“How I deplore the bogus ways
Of society these days -
A sort of national contest
To find out who can a se-lick best!”
In this witty cutting version of Le Misanthrope Molière's angry hero Alceste becomes Alan - journalist, intellectual and free spirit-who finds himself adrift in a social whirl of false flattery and schmooze. In a world where nobody calls a spade a spade (or even knows what a spade is for), how can the cantankerous but high-minded Alan secure the affections of Celia - a spoiled, feckless, fickle socialite, who happens to be the love of his life?
The Grouch was first performed at West Yorkshire Playhouse in February 2008
Molière (born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin in 1622) was a French playwright and actor-manager. Molière's main achievement was in raising the standard of French comedy to a level commensurate with French tragedy. In doing so he created a body of work that would continue to be performed for the next three centuries, providing generation after generation of performers with some of their finest roles.
Born in Manchester in 1959, Ranjit Bolt was educated at Perse School and at Balliol College, Oxford. He worked as an investment analyst and advisor for eight years, before concentrating on theatre translation from the end of 1990.
Ranjit Bolt's acclaimed translations for the theatre, many of which are published by Oberon Books, include works by Molière, Seneca, Sophocles, Corneille, Beaumarchais, Brecht, Goldoni and Zorilla.