What will become of us? Four people, the sole survivors of a shipwreck, crawl out of the sea. Two of them are masters, and two of them are servants; and all four are about to discover what life feels like when the boot is on the other foot. Marivaux's potent mix of laughter, emotion and theatrical game-playing makes him one of the most surprising and most modern of all classic playwrights. Neil Bartlett has adapted this brilliant comedy of role-swapping and redemption, which premiered at the Lyric Hammersmith in April 2002. Cast size: 4

THE STORY: Princes Leonide, in disguise, arrives in the garden of the philosopher, Hermocrate. She has come to try and win some time in his retreat for she has fallen in love, from afar, with Hermocrate's student, Agis, who is the legitimate prin

Are you really surprised to discover that a woman might have a mind of her own? When Lélio thinks he can ditch and cash in on the rich woman he has promised to marry, in order to become the husband of an even wealthier 'girl from Paris', he enlists the help of his attractive new friend, the Chevalier. What he doesn't know is that the Chevalier is none other than this same 'girl from Paris' disguised as a man, and that her project is to publicly expose the depths of his sexual cynicism. A self-declared 'modern', Marivaux is a pioneer in the exploration of human feeling, asking in this play not only what do we hide from others, but what are we hiding from ourselves? Martin Crimp's version of Pierre Marivaux's The False Servant received its premiere at the National Theatre, London, in 2004 and was revived at the Orange Tree Theatre, London, in June 2022. 'Marivaux's scepticism, irony and fascination with money and sex make him seem peculiarly modern.' Guardian 'Thrills, chills, and belly laughs - this addictively adult comedy has got the lot.' Daily Telegraph

Marivaux and Moliere are, respectively, the greatest comedy writers of the eighteenth and seventeenth centuries. Whereas a library of critical material exists on Moliere, Marivaux has benefited from less commentary, and many questions concerning this eighteenth-century playwright remain unanswered. Among these, of primary importance is his relationship with Moliere. The present study represents an illuminating discussion of this relationship. It devotes a chapter to each of Marivaux's plays that recalls any aspect of Moliere's comedies. Without detracting from Marivaux's basic originality, Dr. Cismaru shows that Marivaux's alleged scorn for his illustrious predecessor did not prevent him from using molieresque scenes, tone, and vocabulary.The first book-length study of the relationship between Moliere and Marivaux is lucidly written and free from technical jargon. It should benefit both the student of the two playwrights and the specialist.

The range of Marivaux's work and the subtlety beneath its apparent frivolity are demonstrated here by two of his most famous plays: 'Les Fausses Confidences' (False Admissions) and 'L'Heureux Stratageme' (Successful Strategies). Love is the subject of both plays, with underlying themes of deceit and self-delusion. The former play deals with social mobility and the power of money, while the latter, lighter in tone, takes place on a country estate with a cast of aristocrats and their servants. Both plays had their British premier in this translation at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith in 1983. This collection also includes 'La Dispute,' an intriguing one-act piece, first produced in this translation on BBC Radio...Amazon.com.

You'd laugh if I treated you with the respect I feel.An eligible suitor has been found for Sylvia but, determined to judge him for herself, she swaps roles with her maid. Meanwhile the suitor and his manservant have the same idea. Before long each believes they are fatally attracted to their social opposite. Sylvia's well-intentioned father looks on as the two couples attempt to make sense of their desires and ultimately lose themselves to love. From eighteenth-century France, John Fowles transports us to Regency England in this elegant adaptation of Le Jeu de l'amour et du hasard, Marivaux's greatest comedy. The Lottery of Love premiered at the Orange Tree, Richmond, in March 2017.This book contains an introduction by John Fowles.

Envisager la pensée d'un écrivain que la tradition ne tient pas pour un penseur - et dont les textes n’épargnent pas la prétention philosophique -, peut paraître paradoxal, voire naïf. Mais ce serait oublier que la réflexion prend bien des chemins et que la littérature est un espace de pensée. Il faudrait, par conséquent, plutôt s’étonner du fait qu'il puisse sembler anormal d'interroger la pensée d’un écrivain. Mais Ie terrain est, il est vrai, miné... Mieux vaut repartir sur des bases modestes et claires, d'après quelques constats. Ainsi, concernant Marivaux, est-il frappant de relever l'importance que tiennent les réflexions dans ses textes. Rien de plus légitime dès lors que de se demander si ces pensées, apparemment décousues, n'entrent pas dans une conception ordonnée du réel et de « l’humanité ». Il ne s’agit pas pour autant d’en revenir à une position simpliste consistant à attribuer à chaque auteur une conception du monde à partir d’un relevé de ses affirmations explicites ou implicites. Plutôt que de se fourvoyer dans un exposé artificiellement complet de la pensée de Marivaux, il paraît plus intéressant de faire quelques pas en direction de ce qui est pensé dans les textes de Marivaux.