The Metromaniacs at Theatre 40

Written by David Ives. Based on La Metromanie by Alexis Piron. Directed by Marjorie Hayes. Produced by David Hunt Stafford for Theatre Forty.Metromaniacs arent people who are crazy about subways. They are people who are nuts about poetry, i.e. verse composed in meter. David Ives play The Metromaniacs is an English language adaptation of a French farce from 1738, La Metromaie, and it is set in Paris in that year, a moment when there was a particular craze for poetry. Ives play is performed in English, in rhyming couplets.Would-be poet Damis has fallen in love with the works of a mysterious Breton poetess, not knowing that she is really Francalou, a middle-aged gentleman. Meanwhile, Damiss non-literary friend Dorante has fallen in love with Francalous daughter, Lucille, who mistakes her new suitor for her favorite poetDamis! Add to the chaos some scheming servants, pseudonyms, and disguises, and there is much to untangle before love-plots are resolved and a happy ending found. With his sparkling wit and brilliant sense of comedic timing, David Ives brings a new shine to this lost classic.

Authors

• Alexis Piron
• David Ives