A very modern classic: "The Miser" by Molière
Actor Joan Pera, who we've all seen so many times portraying comedy characters, is taking a break from this widely-known facet to play Molière's most famous skinflint.
Old Harpagon, avaricious, usurer and speculator like no other, has decided that his daughter Elisa will marry an old man who will be good for a healthy dowry (for him...), and that his son Cleante will marry a rich woman who will offer a big profit (also for him...). Some business, marrying off your children! And as if that wasn't enough, he's also going to get married to get a mother for his two children and, by the by, pick up a good dowry from the wife's family. But alas, what he doesn't know is that his son is hopelessly in love with the girl he wants to marry...
So begins this ingenious work by Molière, which the French playwright wrote in 1699 and which he also performed. Molière's play is outstanding as it examines the behaviour of society and its stereotypes, concepts that are tremendously relevant today. So, we'll see how Harpagon's avarice will lead him to a showdown with his children and look at the conflict of double standards and the hypocrisy of false sentiments. It is, in short, a comedy full of hilarious situations, but with a tragic backdrop that presents the scourges and the virtues of the human condition.
The Miser, a very modern classic, is performed by Joan Pera, Manu Fullola, Júlia Barceló, Ricard Farré, Elena Tarrats, Josep Minguell, Alba Florejachs, Manel Dueso, Òscar Castellví and Xavi Francés, and can be seen at the Teatre Goya until 1 May.