The Imaginary Cuckold and School for Husbands

Molière wrote some of the most durable and penetrating comedies of all time. The Imaginary Cuckold and The School for Husbands are two of his grand farces of marriage and misunderstanding, one set in Paris and the other in the provinces.

In The School for Husbands, a tyrannical husband-to-be seeks to isolate his ward, while unwittingly carrying her messages of devotion to her lover. In The Imaginary Cuckold, an enraged husband imagines his wife is unfaithful, but is reluctant to defend his honor. 

Translated by Richard Wilbur

Directed by Rosalind Ayres 

Producing Director Susan Albert Loewenberg 

Two L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performances featuring: 

The School for Husbands:

Brian Bedford as Sganarelle 

Emily Bergl as Isabelle 

Dakin Matthews as Ariste 

Juliet Mills as Lisette 

Christopher Neame as Magistrate 

Lloyd Owen as Valére 

Alan Shearman as Notary 

Rhashan Stone as Ergaste 

Olivia Williams as Léonor 

The Imaginary Cuckold: 

Brian Bedford as Sganarelle 

Dakin Matthews as Gorgibus 

Christopher Neame as Magistrate/Gros-Rene 

Moira Quirk as Celie 

Darren Richardson as Lelie 

Carolyn Seymour as Celie’s maid 

Alan Shearman as Villebriquin/Madame Ralative 

Joanne Whalley as Sganarelle’s wife 

Includes an interview with actor Brian Bedford. 

Recorded at The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood, in February of 2010. 

Lead funding for The School for Husbands and The Imaginary Cuckold was made possible with support from the Sidney E. Frank Foundation.