Gnafron and Guignol find themselves in a forest, with nowhere to sleep and nothing to eat. They decide to lie down under a tree. While they sleep, Péterman waits for his midnight rendezvous with Satan to sign a pact. An imp appears and tells him where to find the treasure Péterman is looking for. But there is one condition: the treasure can only be touched by someone who is unaware of its value. Péterman notices Guignol and Gnafron and invites them to his home. Some time later, he offers them a chance to go and “work in the United States”. They both accept without hesitation. During their journey, they have several adventures and end up being swallowed by two large fish, which spit them out near the entrance to the mermaids' cave. There, they meet a tench and a carp who want to marry the two strangers. Later, Guignol and Gnafron see the tench and the carp in the form of two young fairies. Péterman arrives in turn, but the fairies turn him into a monster because he wanted to sell his soul to the devil. Guignol and Gnafron then marry the fairies and become kings of the sea.

Glove-puppet

Not specified

France

Lyon

Manuscript

Forest

Night

Sleep

Deal with the Devil

Treasure

Journey

Patriotism

Shipwreck

Encounter

Fairy

Wedding

Fantasy

Comical

French

Guignol

Gnafron

Wife

Innkeeper

Daughter

Domestic servant

Monster

Sailor

Fish

Page

Fisherman

Love

Merchant (woman)

Devil

Skeleton

Music

Demons dance

Thunderbolt

Monologue

Comedy of language

Chorus

Song

Aside

Blow-with-a-stick

Off-stage voice

Talking animal

Metamorphosis

Final wedding

Final song

Le Royaume des poissons

The Kingdom of Fish

A Ramoneur (Chimney sweep) falls in the cauldron of the Cuisinière du Roi Noir (The Black King’s Cook), an imposter who murdered his brother the Roi d’Azur (Azure King) and locked up his niece the Princesse d’Azur (Azure Princess) in a cage. Doomed to be cooked in the oven, the Ramoneur is freed by the Corbeau du Roi (King’s Crow) who tells him that the key to the cage where the Princesse is locked up is hidden at the back of the oven. When the Roi Noir discovers that the Ramoneur is still alive, he throws him in the well. The Corbeau asks the Ramoneur to retrieve the Roi d’Azur’s sword at the bottom of the well and to kill the Roi Noir in order to free the Princesse: the Roi Noir threatens the Princesse to kill her if she does not marry him. The Corbeau warns the Roi Noir of the Ramoneur’s intentions, and says that he is invincible; the Roi tells the Corbeau where the royal treasure is hidden to bribe the Ramoneur. The Ramoneur refuses the money, cuts the Roi Noir’s head and frees the Princesse, who wants to marry him in return. The Corbeau lives a happy life with them.

All audiences

Paris

Printed

Usurper

Cauldron

Oven

Well

Cage

Sword

Farcical

Chimney sweeper

King

Regicide

Black Man

Cook

Baker

Princess

Raven

Bird

Fall of a character

Hidden character

Blow

Chase

Character covered in flour

Burnt character

Characters bumping into each other

Fainting

Headbutt

Character dragged by their feet

Character thrown in a well

Off-stage scream

Sword thrust

Stuck character

La Fortune du ramoneur

The chimney sweep’s fortune

Mistreated by his aunt and his uncle since the death of his father, the farmer Timothy Coombewest decides to leave and seek his fortune. He asks Marjorie Morning to wait for him for a few years and to marry him upon his return. He becomes a cabin boy on board the Linnet. Once at sea, Captain Chief, or Blackbeard the Second, tasks his crew with a new quest: he wants to find an emerald that was buried by Jamesee Henderson several years before. Coastal erosion should have exposed the precious stone, permitting ships to see it with a naked eye. Eight years pass, and the emerald still remains lost. Colorado Maduro expresses his gratitude at the kindness of Timothy (Tim), who has not let him die of hunger while the captain has imprisoned him in the ship's hold. He confides in Tim that he found and stole the emerald a year before, but that his destiny is sealed: the one who steals this precious stone is cursed with a year left to live, and the one who receives it as a gift will be blessed with prosperity. The ship jets out towards the cliffs and sinks. In a grotto under the sea, Tim meets Davy Jones, who gives him back the precious gem. Tim, now captain, navigates towards the direction of his hometown. From the shore, the inhabitants see the sails of his ship and prepare to welcome him and to celebrate his marriage to Marjorie.

Toy theatre

Young audiences

Ireland

Strete

Piracy

Curse

Humorous

Dramatic

English

Farmer

Captain

Pirate

Fiancée

Narrator

Shipwreck scene

Aria

Account of a dream

Timothy Coombewest or Esmeralda Grande

Timothy Coombewest ou Esmeralda Grande

Guignol tells the Directeur (Director) that he thinks highly of theatre. He asks to be introduced to the audience, and jokes with him about being made of wood. Ubu kills the king Venceslas. The Queen dies, and the Ombre (Shadow) of one of her ancestors gives the young prince Bougrelas a sword, so that he can avenge his father. Ubu robs and slaughters Nobles, dismisses the judges and makes them all fall through the trapdoor. Ubu goes fight the Russian army, and Mère Ubu (Mother Ubu) and her accomplice Giron try to steal his treasures while he is away. On the battlefield, Ubu is chased out by the Russian army led by the Tzar. An Ours (bear) attacks general Lascy and prevails. In the meantime, Ubu has taken shelter in a tree. Mère Ubu meets her husband and they both prepare to leave for France. But Bougrelas appears and has them arrested by the Gendarmes (Police), and asks for them to locked up in France and for Père Ubu (Father Ubu)’s brain to be removed.

Jarry Alfred

Tyranny

Theft

Voracity

Slaughter

Army

Revenge

Police (French gendarmerie)

Grotesque

Ubu's puppet in Ubu sur la butte, 1901.

Father Ubu

Mother Ubu

Queen

Ghost

General

Emperor

Noble

Clerk

Magistrato

Counselor

Financier

Soldier

Russian

Pole

Bear

Horse

Constable

Prologue

Dance

Murder on stage

Apparition of a ghost

Parade

Plot scene

Battlefield scene

Fight with an animal

Ubu sur la butte

Ubu on the hilllock

In a prologue, the pirate Willie McGowan expresses his love for pillaging ships and their treasures. Yet he is weary of being assaulted by warships since the thieves generally attack in the morning when everyone is asleep. Many men die, and the pirates' only booty is a few bottles of rum. Thus, Willie decides to give up his ship and to return to his hometown to take up a less depressing occupation. Three years go by, and Willie leads a contented life. He works on a boat, the Gleaner, and is well-paid. The ship's owner, Old Henderson, asks him to accompany migrants who want to go to America. Willie refuses; the Gleaner, he believes, will sink after three days at sea. Old Henderson tries to convince him that if the ship sinks, he could return on a sailboat stored onboard. He would be paid a handsome sum as the migrants have already paid their fares. Willie again responds with a no as he does not want to deceive the passengers. Old Henderson accuses him of cowardice and no longer being the pirate he once was. Jessie Henderson, his daughter, encourages Willie to go after the money since she could not possibly marry a poor man. Old Henderson finally decides to make the crossing with his daughter; he dreamt he would find treasure in the old garden near the Point, and he interpreted this as a good omen. Willie digs in the spot Old Henderson described and finds the treasure. The master of the crew, Bosun Hardbite, announces that all have survived the sea journey, except Old Henderson and his daughter.

Wicklow

Swindling

Migrant

Renunciation

Ironic

Willie McGowan / The Man Hunter of the Gulf

Emigrant

Singer

Trap

The Treasure of the Garden

Le Trésor du jardin

A human narrator, Giafar the magician, addresses the audience. One of his spirits tells him that he found the pure-hearted child Giafar was looking for. Giafar needed the child to capture the powerful genie of a magic lamp. At a marketplace, the narrator recounts the story of Scheherazade to some children. Among them was Aladdin – the pure-hearted child. Giafar pretends to be his uncle, and then leads Aladdin down into an underground cave to retrieve the magic lamp. But Aladdin does not give it to him, and so Giafar abandons him in the cave. With the help of a magic ring, Aladdin goes back to his mother’s house, bringing with him many precious stones as well as the lamp. He frees the genie, who helps him and his mother earn enough money to support themselves for years. Later, as a grown-up, the Sultan agrees to let Aladdin marry his daughter, thanks to the precious stones he found in the cave. But Giafar the magician finds out that Aladdin is still alive and that he grew rich with the help of the genie. He does everything in his power to retrieve the lamp and the genie. But in the end, Aladdin defeats Giafar. The genie seals him in the lamp and Giafar is doomed to come out only to tell the story of Aladdin to children.