le nouveau pathelin

    After the success of La Farce de Maître Pathelin, the sequel followed to cash in on the hit's popularity. Unfortunately, the sequel does little to add to the ingenuity of the first. It takes almost the exact plot, where Pathelin flatters a merchant with stories of his father in order to steal his goods, the difference being that here he lies to two people, the merchant and a man of the church in order to set them up for a hilarious conversation of misunderstanding. This conversation is rife with wit and miscommunication which makes the play interesting, but up until this point, the text could have been taken exactly from the original. I loved the original for its innovative use of the ensemble, but this play has narrowed the players to three, making the personality of Pathelin the real star of the show. We can think of this play as a precursor to series that stagnate due to their own popularity. There is a third play in the series, so who knows, Pathelin may come back around.