Drama 130: A Critique Of Metromaniacs Performance

Your Name Drama 130 Date A Critique of Metromaniacs Cover Letter: Draft Thesis statement: Metromaniacs integrates comedy and satire to show the society’s self delusion, where people adopt multiple personalities and are obsessed with poetry. The essay will emphasize how different elements are used to support the play’s plot including: The choice of costume, poetry and settings to represent the times Emphasis on rhymed couplets and dialogue The performers’ ability to interpret Metromaniacs and capture the essential elements of the play Introduction Metromaniacs by David Ives is an adaptation of 18th century French comedy performance. In the play Francalou writes verses that do not seem to impress Damis a young zealous poet. Damis assumes that that certain poems that he received are from Lucille, who loved poetry, without realizing they were actually written by Francalou. Damis assumes different identities, including acting as an aspiring playwright and he gets closer to Francalou’s daughter Lucille. Francalou did not want Dorante to be close to his daughter and Dorante mistakes Lisette the maid as Lucille. In juxtaposing the past and the present the performance allows the audiences to reimagine and reinterpret history. Analysis of Metromaniacs performance will highlight how the performers focus on comedy, mistaken identifies poetry to highlight aspects of 18th century drama. Description The Metromaniacs play by David Ives play has both male and female characters and their costumes show that the setting was in the 18th century. While the female dresses were long gowns or petticoats, and the ‘older’ actresses the boys and young men mainly wore knee-length coats and knee breeches. The interaction between the characters also follows social norms with the maids addressing the bosses as ‘sir’. To further link the play with the historical time the characters hold quill pens, which were used for writing unlike today where pens are common. In the background there are ‘fine art works’ and various characters wore wigs. Analysis The director manages to bring the comic relief by the use of rhymed couplets and this highlights his interpretation of the play in a way that connects with the audience. Similarly, the actors and actresses present in front of schoolchildren, yet they manage to bring comedy without neglecting to highlight that there were differences between the literary elites and other people in 18th century France. The play’s adaptation is aptly captured by the performers as there is an emphasis on rhymes and poetic meter...