THE GAME OF LOVE AND CHANCE by Pierre de Marivaux, translated by Nicolas Billon, directed by Matthew Jocelyn, with Zach Fraser, Gil Garratt, Gemma James-Smith, Harry Judge, Trish Lindström and William Webster. Presented by Canadian Stage and the Centaur Theatre at the Bluma Appel (27 Front East). Previews from Monday (April 16), opens April 19 and runs to May 12, Monday-Saturday 8 pm, matinees Wednesday 1:30 pm, Saturday 2 pm. $22-$99. 416-368-3110. See listing.
Love can alter your state of being, but rarely as drastically as in Marivaux’s The Game Of Love And Chance.
The 1730 comedy, in a new translation by Nicolas Billon, brings together two pairs of lovers who have to deal with multiple mistaken identities and a roller-coaster ride of plot twists and turns.
When the high-born fathers of Silvia and Dorante arrange a marriage for their children, Silvia gets permission from her father, Orgon, to allow her to switch positions with her maid Lisette when Dorante and his manservant, Arlequino, come courting. She wants to see the character of her husband-to-be when he’s not publicly wooing. What Orgon knows but Lisette doesn’t is that Dorante has arranged the same stratagem.
Voila! The two servants are the nobles and the two aristocrats the below-stairs nobodies.
“Class relations are hugely important in this play, especially for the servants,” says Gil Garratt, who plays Arlequino to Gemma James-Smith’s Lisette. “They’ve spent their lives taking care of others and barely being noticed, and now, for the first time, they’re being ‘seen,’ treated as people of tremendous value.”
“As a servant, Lisette is pushed into a situation to which she can’t say no and has to pretend to be someone she isn’t,” adds James-Smith.
“It’s a scary situation, but even scarier when she finds herself drawn to the masquerading Arlequino. She’s shocked and frightened, confused not only by her new position in the world but also by having someone from a higher rank – she thinks – acknowledging and reacting to her.”
It’s possible, notes Garratt, to play Arlequino as someone who has a chance not only to impersonate his master but also “to usurp his power and play for gain, seducing the young mistress of the house and enjoying the fun and excitement of his new role.
“But director Matthew Jocelyn suggested I play Arlequino’s passion for Lisette as true and the love affair as genuine.”
That sort of grounding helps give the production, while still firmly rooted in comedy, an emotional subtext. And a political one.
“The play has within it the seeds of revolution,” adds Garratt, “with servants playing at the subjugation of their masters, treating them as servants. In 60 years, heads would be rolling in France it was a thrilling time for underlings to think about whether their roles were fixed or they could change their positions in the world.”
Stylistically, the play is a blend of the period’s Italian comedy style, which drew on the physicality and improvisation of commedia dell’arte (the name of Garratt’s character, Arlequino, testifies to his roots) and a more formal French style. The current production aims for an emphasis on both text and rubber-limbed comedy.
“Some of that comedy comes about because the action occurs in a single day, which creates added intensity for the four characters taking on fresh roles,” says James-Smith. “Especially for Lisette and Arlequino, their newfound positions may combust at any moment as a result, their actions have a frantic quality.”
Garratt says he’s fascinated by the fact that playing at something can tremendously affect the reality of one’s life.
“In some way, this show is a wonderful and hilarious look at the magic of theatre: those who play at being lovers really do fall in love.”
Additional Interview Clip
On working with translator Nicolas Billon:
jonkap@nowtoronto.com
