DOCTEUR KNOCK AND CO.

A performance inspired by the popular work of JULES ROMAINS

Knock, or The Triumph of Medicine is Jules Romains’ best-known theatrical work, written in 1923. In the four years that followed, it was staged around 1,400 times.

First performed in 1923 by the great Louis Jouvet, after countless productions as well as film and radio adaptations, eighty years later Knock or The Triumph of Medicine continues to captivate readers and audiences. Its graceful rhythm and writing do not prevent it from delivering a biting satire on how easily our minds surrender to superstition — of every kind.

Doctor Parpalaid hands over his medical practice to his colleague Knock. An easy job — or perhaps a swindle — since no one ever goes to the doctor, and the few who do are sent away with vague advice. Within three months, when Parpalaid returns to the village, he finds the inn transformed into a kind of health hotel, the villagers completely hospitalised, and above all perfectly happy to be so…