About the work
The Game of Love and Chance is a three-act prose comedy by Pierre de Marivaux. It premiered on 23 January 1730, performed by the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris, and remains his most frequently performed play.
Plot
To get to know her intended husband Dorante, chosen for her by her parents, before committing to the match, Silvia obtains her father's permission to swap roles with her maid Lisette. Unbeknownst to her, Dorante has had exactly the same idea, letting his valet Arlequin take his place. The two disguised aristocrats fall in love while each believes the other a servant, forcing them to ask whether their attraction would survive without rank or fortune.
Cultural significance
A textbook case of 'marivaudage' – the finely calibrated, double-edged dialogue through which Marivaux traces the birth of love – the play has remained in the Comédie-Française's repertoire almost without interruption since its premiere and ranks among the most frequently staged works of French theatre.