''La Foire de Guibray'' ( en, The Guibray Fair) is a one-act

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

Alain-René Lesage Alain-René Lesage (; 6 May 166817 November 1747; older spelling Le Sage) was a French novelist and playwright. Lesage is best known for his comic novel '' The Devil upon Two Sticks'' (1707, ''Le Diable boiteux''), his comedy ''Turcaret'' (170 ...

. It was first performed at the Foire de Saint Laurent in

1714 Events January–March * January 21 – After being tricked into deserting a battle against India's Mughal Empire by the rebel Sayyid brothers, Prince Azz-ud-din Mirza is blinded on orders of the Emperor Farrukhsiyar as punishment. * Feb ...

. ''La Foire de Guibray'' is actually a prologue to two other one-act farces, ''

Arlequin Mahomet ''Arlequin Mahomet'' ( en, Arlequin Mohammed) is a one act farce by Alain-René Lesage. It was first performed at the Foire de Saint Laurent in 1714. ''Arlequin Mahomet'' was performed as the second play in a series consisting of '' La Foire de ...

'' and '' Le Tombeau de Nostradamus''. Between the three works, Lesage created a comedy in three acts.

Plot summary

Arlequin and Scaramouche come to the Guibray Fair in order to steal things from merchants. When Scaramouche talks about how scared he is of the judge of the town, Arlequin suggests that they disguise themselves as Arab actors to avoid suspicion. Meanwhile, the judge and Pierrot are walking through the fair, watching the various theatrical and musical acts. An Italian actor offers to entertain the judge, when Arlequin walks up and proposes his own play. The judge suggests a competition between the two. Arlequin will perform ''

'', and the Italian will perform '' Le Tombeau de Nostradamus''.

Characters

* The judge of Guibray *

Pierrot Pierrot ( , , ) is a stock character of pantomime and '' commedia dell'arte'', whose origins are in the late seventeenth-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a diminutive of ''P ...

, his secretary *

Arlequin Arlequin may refer to: * Harlequin, also spelled Arlequin, a comic servant character * Arlequin (band), a Japanese rock band * Arlequin (software), population genetics software * L'Arlequin, a cinema in Paris * Los Arlequíns, Mexican pro-wrestl ...

, a thief posing as an Arab actor *

Scaramouche Scaramouche () or Scaramouch (; from Italian Scaramuccia , literally "little skirmisher") is a stock clown character of the 16th-century commedia dell'arte (comic theatrical arts of Italian literature). The role combined characteristics of the ...

, a thief posing as an Arab actor * An Italian actor * Two actresses * A musician 1714 plays Plays by Alain-René Lesage {{18thC-play-stub