Les Debuts de Thomas Corneille au theatre

As with the early literary output of his elder brother Pierre, Thomas Corneille's initial plays are difficult to date. This article, which revises findings from one published in 1974, argues a case for the long delay in publication of Thomas's first play, 'Les Engagements du hasard', and confirms the sequence of first and second plays. It discusses the performance date of 'Les Engagements', concluding in favour of 1649 at the Hôtel de Bourgogne rather than 1647, with 1650 as the probable premiere of 'Le Feint astrologue' at the same theatre. 'Dom Bertrand de Cigarral' and 'L'Amour à la mode' (both 1651) were staged at the Marais theatre, which also put on 'Le Berger extravagant', probably in late 1652 or early 1653, 'Les Illustres ennemis' (mid-1655) and 'Le Geôlier de soi-même' (late 1655). 'Timocrate' started its exceptional run at the Marais in the autumn of 1656, while 'Le Charme de la voix' appeared at the Hôtel in the closing days of that year or in early January 1657.