Bouvard & Pécuchet: comedy based on Flaubert at the Théâtre de Poche-Montparnasse

Bouvard & Pécuchet, an adaptation of Flaubert directed by Géraud Bénech and starring Jean-Paul Farré and Marc Chouppart, runs at the Théâtre de Poche-Montparnasse through November 8, 2026.

Le Théâtre de Poche-Montparnasse is presenting Bouvard & Pécuchet through November 8, 2026, a stage adaptation of Gustave Flaubert’s final novel. Directed by Géraud Bénech and conceived with Marc Chouppart, the production offers a faithful yet playful reinterpretation of this unfinished work, whose satire of knowledge, certainties and encyclopedic obsessions remains strikingly modern. An opportunity to rediscover two iconic figures of French literature in a condensed, fast-paced and thoroughly theatrical version.

The plot is set in Paris in the^mid-19th century, where two office workers, Bouvard and Pécuchet, become friends. Following an inheritance, they leave the capital to settle in the countryside and devote themselves to the study of multiple disciplines. Agriculture, chemistry, history, politics, arts, and religion: everything becomes an excuse to experiment. Their enthusiasm, fueled by a frenzy to learn, leads them into a series of attempts that are as ambitious as they are risky, giving rise to comical disappointments and revealing the limits of their encyclopedic quest.

Géraud Bénech's staging plays on the art of the duo and the comic mechanics that arise from the rhythm of trials and failures. The staging is based on a lively structure in which changes of space and situation follow one another in rapid succession, recreating the perpetual movement of the novel. The adaptation choices favor an approach that highlights the precision of Flaubert's text while incorporating visual humor inspired by burlesque.

On stage, Jean-Paul Farré and Marc Chouppart embody the two protagonists with the complicity of a duo, exploring the contrasts between naivety, ambition, and obstinacy. Their interpretation highlights the satirical dimension of the story while emphasizing the tenderness shown to these characters driven by a desire to understand the world. Their performance is deliberately stripped down, leaving room for the text, the rhythm, and the comical situations that arise from the heroes' many experiments.

This adaptation of Bouvard & Pécuchet is in line with the artistic vision of the Théâtre de Poche-Montparnasse, which promotes great literary texts revisited for the stage. Through this "manual of absurd sciences" brought to the theater, the production humorously questions the accumulation of knowledge and the quest for truth, resonating with contemporary issues related to transmission and knowledge.

Bouvard & Pécuchet is on at the Théâtre de Poche-Montparnasse until November 8, 2026, Tuesday through Saturday at 7 p.m., with an additional performance on Sunday, November 8, at 3 p.m.

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