Discovering the texts of contemporary French or foreign authors, reading them and, in some cases, putting them in the spotlight, is one of the missions of the Comédie-Française. The Readers’ Bureau, chaired by Laurent Muhleisen, the Comédie-Française’s literary adviser, reads about four hundred plays a year. This committee composed of members from both within and outside the Comédie-Française, meets six times a year and selects six plays that are given public readings by the actors of the Troupe.Following each of these cycles of public readings, a group of committed spectators –having attended all the presentations– votes for its favourite play. This choice is taken into consideration by the General Administrator when programming living authors at the Comédie-Française.
It was on this basis that in recent years the authors Lucie Depauw, Jean-René Lemoine, Fausto Paravidino, Lina Prosa or Naomi Wallace have been performed by the Troupe.