The Miser - Molière

In its compelling dynamism, its turbulent tangle of intrigue and misunderstanding, "The Miser" remains brilliantly comic and bitingly satirical. A true classic that rightly ranks among the most frequently performed comedies in theatre history.

Harpagon is the embodiment of an eccentric miser. Driven by greed and pathological avarice, the old man nervously guards his treasure - a casket full of gold ducats buried in the cellar. Love, trust, happiness - nothing matters more to him than his wealth. Without hesitation, he spares not even his own children. Mariane, the impoverished beloved of his son Cléante, he wishes to marry himself, and his daughter Elise he plans to marry off to old Anselme, since the wealthy merchant requires no dowry. Ruthlessly, he is willing to plunge his entire household into misery, and no one seems able to stop him.

When his cherished casket vanishes, his world falls apart and, seized by obsessive suspicion, he suspects everyone. Whether he recovers his treasure and whether a happy ending awaits the young lovers - we shall not reveal.

It has been 50 years since the Neustadt acting company last staged this wonderful work of French theatre, and nothing has changed about its relevance. Harpagon shows us today, in a painfully humorous way, how unchanging human weaknesses shape our life together. That is good reason to include this masterpiece in the 2026 season in a new, colourful and engaging production by Isolde Opielka.