Aurélien Hamard-Padis, in his second production with the Comédie-Française, has chosen to stage Le Legs, a short comedy by Marivaux in which love ultimately mocks money. The play explores the difficulty of confessing love, presented with subtlety and lightness. Le Legs is a one-act play in which the entire plot revolves around the inability of two characters who love each other to confess their feelings. The Marquis is bound by a will to marry Hortense, under penalty of losing 200,000 francs, equivalent to 2 million euros today. Hortense, herself in love with the Knight, pressures the Marquis to decide, hoping he will let her keep the money to marry the one she loves. The Marquis would do so willingly if the Countess were open to his love. But when he confesses, she reacts poorly. A misunderstanding that drives the entire action. After Le Moche by Mayenburg, the first play Hamard-Padis directed with actors from the Comédie-Française, he moves from contemporary works to the classical repertoire. Through this shift, he begins to outline a style that focuses on the fluidity of his stagings and a form of performance lightness, seemingly nonchalant. Le Legs takes place in an unspecified location, assumed to be the Countess's apartment, with a half-moon sofa, a bar counter, and multicolored wallpaper with exotic flowers, deliberately contrasting with the costumes of the period. The audience enters the space from above and below, through a courtyard or garden, much like in a town hall, depending on the action's flow. The play is funny, and we know in advance that love triumphs. But the lies of each character, the shared bad faith, the blindness of vanity, and the obstacles that cannot be overcome create a joyful atmosphere for a spectator who cannot help but recognize the fear of confessing love. Similarly, the perverse calculations and immoral choices attracted by the allure of money are present. No one is condemnable in this story, as everyone defends their interests while trying to follow the inclinations of their heart. The actors follow the rhythm of a light and springy action. Nicolas Chupin, as the Marquis, is surprisingly awkward, Julie Sicard portrays a confident and highly sensitive Countess, and every character, even the servants, deploys their strategies without losing their humanity. The unwavering tenderness of Marivaux for his characters is evident, as is his latent feminism and the ability to make love the heart of dialogues full of humor and sensitivity, allowing this staging to fully breathe. Le Legs de Marivaux is directed by Aurélien Hamard-Padis. The performance takes place at the Studio-Théâtre of the Comédie-Française from September 24 to November 8, 2026. The actors are Julie Sicard (the Countess), Jennifer Decker (Lisette, the Countess's maid), Claire de La Rüe du Can (Hortense), Nicolas Chupin (the Marquis), and Baptiste Chabauty (Lépine, the Marquis's valet). The set design is by Salma Bordes, the costumes by Claire Fayel, the lighting by Nieves Salzmann, and the sound by Antoine Richard. The performance lasts one hour.