The Great Garrick

True to the person in question, a fictional story of famed and larger-than-life - especially in his own mind - British actor David Garrick (1717-1779) is told. It's 1750, and he is accepting an invitation from the famed Comedie-Francaise acting troupe in Paris to appear with them for the remainder of the season, it arguably as renowned as his own home troupe at the Drury Lane in London. Something that happens at his final performance at the Drury Lane gets back to the troupe in Paris that is misassigned to him: that he is going to Paris to teach them how to act. Rather than retract the invitation in their humiliation as was their initial inclination, those at the Comedie-Francaise instead decide to show him that they indeed can act. What they intend to do is overtake the Adam and Eve, the inn at which Garrick is scheduled to stop at one evening en route to Paris, pretending to be the innkeepers, staff and guests with him the unwitting "star" of their "play", they in the process intending to place him in the most uncomfortable of situations. Word gets back to him that the troupe is doing something unknown at the Adam and Eve to show him up, he seeing first hand what it is upon his arrival. As such, he decides that he will show them up instead by playing along only to get the final laugh when the proverbial curtain comes down. As the "play" proceeds, he discovers the center of the piece is a beautiful damsel in distress by the name of Germaine Dupont who is running away from a situation not of her liking back in Paris and is requiring refuge in the already full inn. The problem for Garrick is that Germaine is indeed a damsel in distress who stumbled upon this situation unwittingly as she believes she and Garrick have indeed fallen in love as Garrick, the actor, plays out his end of the story.