THE SPECULATOR by Stephen Wyatt

A sparkling stage version of Balzac’s witty comedy Le Faiseur about a financial speculator on his uppers. The perfect comic fable for our times! While Auguste Mercadet tries to keep his debtors at bay, his wife urges him to let their daughter marry her poor but honest lover. Mercadet’s schemes to find her a rich husband end in confusion and financial ruin seems inevitable. His only hope is his long-lost business partner – the mysterious Godeau.

Mercadet the middle-aged smooth talker is the central figure but there are strong parts for his wife and outspoken daughter, the young lover Minard and the engaging fraudster dandy, de la Brive. As well as a string of juicy cameo opportunities for servants and creditors.