The Philanthropist is a play by Christopher Hampton, written as a response to Molière's The Misanthrope. After a tryout at the Royal Court Theatre, London, the piece premiered on Broadway under the direction of Robert Kidd. Kidd had collaborated with Hampton on When Did You Last See Your Mother? (1964), which had also been staged at the Royal Court Theatre. Described by Hampton as a "bourgeois comedy", the piece is set in an "English University Town". The Philanthropist demonstrated Hampton's ability "to write witty, subtle and revealing dialogue."