Marivaux: Two Plays: The Triumph of Love; The Game of Love and Chance

by Pierre de Marivaux

Two tales of multiple misunderstanding by the eighteenth-century master of complex, witty comedies.
In the tightly-structured, erotically-charged fable The Triumph of Love, a young princess, conscious that her claim to the throne is less than honourable, disguises herself as a man in order to dupe her enemies and persuade the rightful ruler to return. This faithful and vivid translation by Braham Muray and Katherine Sand was first performed at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester in 2007.

In The Game of Love and Chance, a pair of prospective lovers each swap places with their servants, while their relatives, fully apprised of both deceptions, look on in amusement. Neil Bartlett's adaptation, first performed at the Lyric Hammersmith, finds inventive modern equivalents for Marivaux's ludic theatricality and its roots in the Commedia dell'Arte.

Genres: Plays, College, France

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2007

About the author

Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux, commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French novelist and dramatist.
He is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, writing numerous comedies for the Comédie-Française and the Comédie-Italienne of Paris. His most important works are Le Triomphe de l'amour, Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard and Les Fausses Confidences. He also published a number of essays and two important but unfinished novels, La Vie de Marianne and Le Paysan parvenu.

Reviews

[Ashley Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute, French, harlequin romance.

[shinaeyuu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Une lecture scolaire mais intéressante, surtout si après votre lecture vous aimez regardez la pièce de théâtre.