The Docteur (Doctor) and Marinette are castaways on an island, where they pretend to be mute and have been asked to guard Grazinde – a virgin girl who must be sacrificed to a monster called Endriague. Elfridérigelpot – the son of the sacrificer Caudaguliventer – lets them flee because he wants to keep Grazinde for himself. But he cannot save her in the end: the genius Popocambechatabalipa holds Grazinde prisoner in the Endriague’s stomach. The Genius turns the indigenous population to stone as a punishment for doing such sacrifices. A new castaway, Arlequin, tries to revive them, without success. The Génie (Genie) tasks him with fetching Espadavantellados the knight, who will free Grazinde and break the spell. The Endriague appears and swallows Arlequin, but he manages to escape. At Arlequin’s request, the spell is removed from Scaramouche, who was turned to stone, and Scaramouche roams the town. With the help of Arlequin, Espadavantellados the knight fights the Endriague and frees Grazinde. The islanders are revived, but in order to fully break the spell, the knight must touch the part where their hand was at the time they were petrified.

Costume puppet

Not specified

Piron Alexis

France

Paris

Printed

Monster

Sacrifice

Human turned into a statue

Enchantment

Theaters of the Parisian fairs

Knighthood

Comical

Fantasy

French

Arlecchino

Scaramouche

Il Dottore (Commedia dell'arte)

Marinette

Prosecutor

Daughter

Terpsichore

Metamorphosis

Speechless character

Archaic speech

L'Endriague

The Endriague

Méduse (Medusa) petrified most of the king Céphée’s (Cepheus) subjects. Mérope, the sister of the queen Cassiope (Cassiopeia), is in love with Persée (Perseus), but she must compete with her niece Andromède (Andromeda), who rejects the advances of her uncle Phinée (Phineus). At Cassiope’s request, everyone prays to Juno, but the latter shows them anger in return. Céphée and Cassiope tell Phinée that his rival Persée promised to cut Méduse’s head. Andromède tells Persée that she must marry Phinée, while she simultaneously confesses her love to him. Mercure (Mercury) appears and tells Persée that Jupiter will help him by giving him magical weapons. Mercure puts Méduse to sleep so that Persée can cut her head. Idas tells Céphée and Cassiope that their daughter Andromède must be given to a monster. As Persée is setting her free, Phinée kills Mérope, then searches for Andromède: he wants to kill her too but Méduse’s head, brandished by Persée, petrifies him.

Rod and string marionette

Carolet Denis

Manuscript

Unrequited love

Love

Incest

Parodistic

Polichinelle Persée, manuscript, Soleinne collection, Bibliothèque nationale de France (Ms FF 9313)

Perseus

Polichinelle

Cepheus

Pierrot

Phinée

Cassiopeia

Andromeda

Mercury

Medusa

Love story

Apparition of a god

Aria

Monologue

Polichinelle Persée

Polichinelle Perseus

The shepherd Floritan (Floridan) is in love with the shepherdess Dorinda, but she tells him that she will only answer to his love if he brings her water from a magical cave. Instead of doing it himself, Floritan sends his servant Hans (Kasper) to fetch that water. As a reward, he assures Hans that he will give him a trousseau so that he can marry Dorinda’s servant, Gretel. The latter has to prepare a jar to fetch water, but she refuses to give it to Hans because she thinks he is unfaithful. In fact, Hans is planning on marrying Dorinda if his adventure is a success. Hans and Floritan manage to get to the cave, each independently, but Floritan is scared and runs away. Karikux, the magician, denies entry to the cave to Hans, a devil breaks his pot, then he is eventually chased away by shrews. Hans tells his story, exaggerating it, to Floritan. Floritan gives up on going back to the cave to get water. Instead, Dorinda challenges him to kill a monster that is eating her sheep and goats. Hans, to whom Floritan has again promised money for his wedding, kills the monster for his master. He demands that Dorinda marry him, but she does not care about who has killed the monster, because she is, in fact, in love with Floritan, and with him only. Therefore, Dorinda gets married to Floritan, and Hans to Gretel.

String marionette

All audiences

Germany

Leipzig

Typewriting

Magic

Test

Cave

Jealousy

Pastoral

Theaterzettel von Louis Regel aus Donndorf, Roßla am Harz um 1880

German

Sheperherdess

Shepherd

Kasperl

Farmhand

Maid

Magician

Devil

Ghost

Apparition

Apparition of the Devil

Song

Final wedding

Der Gang zur Zauberhöhle

The path to the magical cave

Jan Klaassen meets with Langhals, whose neck inconceivably grows longer and longer. Langhals disappears when Jan Klaassen throws himself at him to break his neck. Jan Klaassen violently bangs himself. Katrijn, his wife, hears his screams and comes running: she tells him that she would have rather found him dead. Jan Klaassen wants to beat her with a stick. During their pursuit, Death appears in Katrijn’s stead. Jan Klaassen raises his stick and Death disappears. Jan Klaassen decides to go for a drink, but changes his mind at the last minute and ends the play with a song condemning alcoholism and its harmful effects.

Glove-puppet

Netherlands

Argument

Burial

Drink

Alcohol

Spousal abuse

Farcical

Dutch

Jan Klaassen

Long-neck

Death

Domestic scene

Chase

Blow-with-a-stick

Final song

Lengthening of a character

Langhals en de dood

Long-neck and Death

The play is set during the annual Saint-Cloud fair, in the big alley where the fairground theatres are gathered. Cassandre, Paillasse and Jeannot, whom Arlequin meet, rejoice at the news of the return of Mère Gigogne – a well-known figure at the fair, who has what it takes to bring back the joyfulness needed for its success. Paillasse and Jeannot parade to attract people to the stall to see a show about a giant cockchafer and trained stink bugs. Arlequin comes up to a young girl, Jeunesse (Youth), and promises to buy her a reed flute and gingerbread. The audience leave the stall, furious about having been misled, since the show never began. Mère Gigogne, followed by a large procession, appears and dances, giving birth to many children. She blesses the marriage between Arlequin and Jeunesse. The show ends with a sung vaudeville.

Fairground

Birth

Show

Animal savant

Pierre-Louis Belfort-Devaux, La Foire de Saint-Cloud, 1853.

Cassandra

People

Oration

Childbirth on stage

Dance

La Foire de Saint-Cloud

The Saint-Cloud Fair

A young alchemist, Émile, and his assistant Guignol are preparing for their final experiment—to create a man. Instead of a man, however, a Monstre (Monster) rises out of the cauldron, scaring the two men as well as Émile’s fiancée, Amélie, the daughter of Baron de Valbreuze. Émile and Guignol go to a cemetery, where they are advised by a Squelette (Skeleton) to question an old Alchimiste (Alchemist), who can teach them how to get rid of the Monstre. The Monstre is devoured by ghosts and disappears. Guignol and Émile go back to the Baron and to his daughter, and the young couple signs a marriage contract.

Vuillerme-Dunand Victor-Napoléon

Alchemy

Double

Wedding

Cemetery

Fantastic

Le Monstre et l'alchimiste, censorship archives (first page of the text)

Le Monstre et l'alchimiste

Alchemist

Guignol

Skeleton

Undead

Comedy of language

Dialect as a social marker

Aside

Pyrotechnics

Explosion

Apparition of a monster

False exit

Comical fall of a character

Fainting

Magical disappearance

Dead talking character

Apparition of a ghost

The Alchemist

Isabella complains about being in the countryside to her husband Leandro. Her sister Bellinda downplays the situation. Petronio, their father, has been going through some financial difficulties but he announces that things are looking up and that they may be able to go back to the city. As he leaves, Isabella asks him to bring back clothes and jewels for her, and Bellinda only asks for a rose bush. After several misadventures, Petronio and his servant Gerolamo arrive in a nice place where a table is set, but no one is around it. They eat, drink, sleep, and find the horses ready for departure. As he walks through the garden, Petronio wants to get a rose bush for Bellinda, but thunder breaks out. The monster Azor, the owner of the place, tells Petronio that he is an ungrateful thief and that he will pay for it with his life, unless one of his daughters sacrifices herself to save him. Petronio relates what happened to his daughters. Bellinda decides to follow him and to sacrifice herself to save him. They arrive at Azor's palace and eat. Azor asks Bellinda if she came here willingly. Her father does not want her to stay, but she does anyway. A fairy reassures them. The monster is ugly but kind: he wants Bellinda to keep him company. However, she sees in the mirror that, back home, her father is ill. With Azor’s permission, she leaves but promises to be back soon. Unfortunately, Isabella, jealous of her sister’s wealth, holds her up. Sad and disappointed, Azor hides. Bellinda finds him and tells him that she wants to marry him. The curse under which he was breaks, and, thanks to Bellinda’s love, he turns back into a handsome prince. He brings Petronio and Gerolamo to his gorgeous palace, and relegates Isabella and her husband to a tower.

Italy

Honesty

Greed

Promise

Il mostro torchino (Tipografia Fratelli Miglio)

Italian

Father

Young woman

Sister

Wife

Husband

Prince

Servant

Gerolamo

Fairy

Thunderbolt

Dinner scene

Il mostro torchino o Bellinda ed Azor ossia La Virtù premiata

The turquoise monster, or Bellinda and Azor or the rewarded virtue

The Real Lady enters a shop to buy a foil that will accompany her in her social engagements. The Shopman first recommends her a “Real Horror”, whom she turns down. Then, he introduces the Real Artist, the Van Gogh model (only his legs and shoes are visible), but he growls whenever he hears about money and the Shopman advises her against buying it in the end. He suggests a Marionette instead – The Real Gentleman. The Real Lady inspects it closely, buys it and gets out of the shop with it, carrying it around on a leash. From behind a window, art historian John Ruskin and naturalist Charles Darwin followed and briefly commented on the scene. The interlude concludes with other remarks, from Buddha and Ahha, who appeared in a version of The First Prologue and who, accompanied by Parrot, were supposed to travel throughout centuries in the Drama for Fools initial project.

Shadow theatre

Silhouette

Giant marionette

Craig Edward Gordon

Marina di Pisa

Trade

Shopping

Stooge

Society life

Goods

Money

People and history

Witness

Satirical

Absurd

English

Salesman

Lady

Gentleman

Artist

Vincent Van Gogh

John Ruskin

Charles Darwin

Buddha

Ahha

Parrot

Columbus

Situation comedy

Metadiscourse on puppet theatre

Spying scene

Commentary

After a prologue in which a marionette summarizes the plot, the scene opens in Juno’s bedroom at 3 a.m. Jove and Mercury, drunk and dressed as burglars, break the window to get in. Jove drives Mercury away and tries to sleep but he wakes up Juno, who picks a quarrel with him. She is furious and she decides to go to Hell and fetch two snakes which will kill Hercules and his mother in retaliation for Jove’s unfaithfulness. At the gates of Hell, Juno orders snakes and meets Blind Boy and Columbus the Parrot, who are carrying a bag. They are introduced to Pluto and his favorite snake, Slimy-Go-Gurgle-and-Twirl. They are sentenced to boil in the cauldron of Hell, but Columbus states that he has a present for Pluto in his bag. Pluto asks to see it. The present is an egg containing six other eggs, which are all of different colours and are placed one inside the other. Out of the smallest one hatches the “Worm of Worms,” Cockatrice, who kills all the snakes in Hell and terrifies everybody. Pluto gives his ring to Blind Boy and asks him to take Cockatrice away, but Blind Boy informs him that he is his mother and offers to explain how it happened. They all sit in front of a small theatre, where the story of Cockatrice’s birth is narrated. In the cockney neighborhood of London, Jove, dressed up as a cock, steps into Blind Woman and Blind Boy’s shop in order to buy pigeon milk. He hands over an egg to Blind Boy, since he is blind and therefore cannot see Cockatrice, who is about to hatch, for a single glance at Cockatrice would prove fatal - it would even kill him to see himself in a mirror. Jove asks Blind Boy to be Cockatrice’s mother and to never reveal to him who his father is. After hatching, Cockatrice befriends Blind Boy, and they decide to travel the different worlds together. After the performance ends, Blind Boy, Cockatrice, and Parrot leave Hell in order to rescue Hercules from the snakes sent by that Juno sent.

L'Endriague

Polichinelle Persée

Der Gang zur Zauberhöhle

Langhals en de dood

La Foire de Saint-Cloud

Le Monstre et l'alchimiste

Il mostro torchino o Bellinda ed Azor ossia La Virtù premiata

Shopping

Hell (1916)

1st version

Hell (1918)

3rd version