Abstract
In 1530, Francis I founded the Collège des lecteurs royaux, now the Collège de France, to provide the nation with the knowledge it needed. One hundred and fifty years later, in 1680, Louis XIV founded the Comédie-Française, entrusting it with the monopoly of French-language theater in Paris. Today, these two centuries-old institutions are based on singular administrative models, in which the main players are at the heart of operations and decision-making. Is this the reason for their longevity ?
ÉricRuf
Actor, director and set designer, Éric Ruf joined the Comédie-Française as an actor in 1993, and became General Administrator in August 2014. He leads an artistic policy that brings together the great masters of stage direction and emerging talents.
A director of both theater and opera, in December 2024 he will stage a new production of Paul Claudel's Le Soulier de satin in the Salle Richelieu at the Comédie-Française. Set designer for his own shows, he regularly creates sets for productions by Denis Podalydès, Clément Hervieu-Léger, Valérie Lesort and Christian Hecq, Julie Deliquet..
As an actor, he works in theater, television and film, most recently in Martin Bourboulon's Les Trois Mousquetaires : D'Artagnan and Les Trois Mousquetaires : Milady. In 2020, he launched La Comédie continue ! webtélé de la Comédie-Française, broadcasting 7 days/7 during the eight weeks of confinement. Given the public success of the system, he continues its development by creating Théâtre à la table, a new audiovisual theater object.
Éric Ruf is a Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters.
