The Humorous Lieutenant, also known as The Noble Enemies, Demetrius and Enanthe, or Alexander's Successors,[1] is a Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Fletcher.
In addition to the printed texts in the two folios, the play exists in a manuscript version, a presentation copy prepared by the professional scribe Ralph Crane for Sir Kenelm Digby.
When the new Theatre Royal at Drury Lane opened on 8 April 1663, The Humorous Lieutenant was the first play staged, and ran for twelve nights in a row—highly unusual in the repertory system of the time.
It is set in the ancient Middle East after the death of Alexander the Great, and features the major historical figures of the era: Antigonus, his son Demetrius, and Seleucus, Ptolemy, and Lysimachus.
The plot centers on the love between Demetrius and an obscure young woman named Celia—who at the end of the play turns out to be Enanthe, the daughter of King Seleucus and so a suitable match for a prince.