The Miser - Molière

With its gripping energy, its tangled web of intrigues and misunderstandings, "The Miser" remains hilariously funny and deliciously biting. A true classic that rightfully ranks among the most frequently performed comedies in theatre history.

Harpagon is the embodiment of an eccentric miser. Consumed by greed and pathological stinginess, the old man guards his treasure with fear and suspicion - a chest full of gold ducats buried in the cellar. Love, trust, happiness - nothing matters more to him than his wealth, so he spares not even his own children. He wants to marry Mariane, the impoverished beloved of his son Cléante, himself, and plans to marry off his daughter Elise to the elderly Anselme, a rich merchant who demands no dowry. Ruthlessly, he is willing to plunge his entire household into misery, and no one seems able to stop him.

When his beloved chest disappears, his world falls apart, and he suspects everyone like a man possessed. Whether he recovers his chest and whether the young lovers get their happy ending remains to be seen.

It has been 50 years since the Neustadt theatre group last staged this wonderful piece 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. A good reason to include this work in the 2026 programme in a new, colourful and engaging production by Isolde Opielka.