Le Médecin Volant

Molière’s comedy Le Médecin Volant was staged in the garden of the People’s House in summer 1921 and the Iron Hall (premiere 29 December 1921) of the Theatre of National Comedy. Between late 1919 and early 1922, virtually all the shows at the Theatre of National Comedy – around fifteen productions – were mounted by director Sergei Radlov and designer Valentina Khodasevich. The Theatre of National Comedy was conceived as a street or fairground institution, with eccentric tricks, improvisation and clowning, which inevitably influenced the stage directing and the sets and costumes. The outrageous designs of Valentina Khodasevich for Le Médecin Volant parodied the traditional costumes of the academic theatre.