Incarcerated for his debts, Casperl is freed from prison by a small child, Capricerl, who is the guide of Fortuna, the blind goddess. While being pursued, Casperl finds refuge with Klaus, a hermit who reveals himself to be the Devil. However, Fortuna bet against Bios, the genie of life, that her gifts could make someone happy: Casperl will be her guinea pig. She repels the Devil and makes Casperl win the lottery. But the newly rich man is tyrannical and angry to the point of becoming sick. He goes so far as to miss the simple and modest life he once had, and curses his fortune. The goddess understands her defeat and brings him back to his normal self. Casperl goes to the inn.

String marionette

Young audiences

Pocci Franz von

Germany

Munich

Printed

Despair

Thirst

Destiny

Debt

Happiness

Blindness

Widower

Gas balloon

Jail

Philosophy

Grief

Breaking out

Latin Mythology

Bingo

Tavern

Fantasy

Burlesque

German

Kasperl im Schuldturm

Genie

Goddess of Fortune

Kasperl

Innkeeper

Old man

Hermit

Devil

Police officer

Verschiedene Erscheinungen und Verwandlungen

Apparition

Allegory

Monologue

Off-stage voice

Flying machine

Song

Apparition of the Devil

Versified passages

Pact with the devil

Word for another

Thunderbolt

Chorus

Story

Metatheatre

Metamorphosis

Transforming scenery

Address to the public

Slaps

Das Glück ist blind

Luck is blind

In a tavern, Virgili presents four short stories that take place in a circus and have the themes of solitude, failure and death in common. A clown, in love with a trapeze artist, kills her partner; a trainer treats his wife as if she were a circus animal and ends up killing her; a young juggler kills his father with the needles he uses to inject cocaine; a soldier, a musician in the circus band who raped girls and killed children during the war, ends up shot as a deserter.

Adults

Alapont Pasqual

Spain

Valencia

Love

Discrimination

Death

Couple

Loneliness

Revenge

Violence

Spousal abuse

Circus

Domination

Murder

Dramatic

Grotesque

Catalan

Obra per a un actor i titelles

Clown

Trapeze artist

Accordionist

Edith Piaf

Waiter

Spider

Jazz Band

Billie Holiday

Tamer

Carlos Gardel

Guitarist

Dancer

Juggler

Father

Soldier

Harald Paulsen

General

Announcer

Throws

Murder on stage

El circ de la fosca

Le cirque des ténèbres

A TV presenter invites the audience to time travel to the year 2084; he ages rapidly and dies. A foetus floats in space and hums the music from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Numbers 3 and 5 harass number 11 who wants to be left alone, driving him to suicide several times. The voice from the speaker congratulates 3 and 5. Two robots talk using only letters and acronyms. Mozart, afraid of being forgotten, doubts his own identity. The creatures Têtedelard and Boutdechou reflect on their potential, and then the former dismembers the latter while Lumgo, a deceitful creature with disorganised syntax, tries to convince Boutdechou to become the king of humanity. Clones have to play family but no longer understand the concepts of man, woman or love. An alien mother listens absent-mindedly to her son tell stories of life on Earth in the past. Behind them, the planet Earth rises.