Mr. Fish pays a visit to Mrs. Bones and starts a conversation with her. Mrs. Bones uses different excuses to get angry and threaten to kill Mr. Fish. She then asks him to get divorced from his wife, while offering to get a divorce from her husband for them to marry. Mr. Fish, frightened, begs Teddy, his puppeteer, to save him from this situation. The latter pulls at the puppet’s strings to take him back to the fly loft. Then a hand comes down (the puppeteer’s) and threatens Mrs. Bones, while her strings are cut one by one. Cockatrice, Mrs. Bones’ “old friend,” wants to seduce her and take her with him, but Mrs. Bones can no longer move. Cockatrice thus sends for a girl in the audience to take the puppet, which is now merely a doll. The play ends with the appearance of the face of the Governor (the puppeteer) and with a grand finale for Mrs. Bones, who ascends to heaven, to the surprise amazement of a myriad of glove puppets watching her.

String marionette

Not specified

Craig Edward Gordon

Italy

Bologna

Rapallo

Printed

Argument

Divorce

Anger

Woman

Punishment

Doll

Whim

Comical

Satirical

Edward Gordon Craig, drawing of the heads of Mrs Bones and Mr. Fish

English

Cockatrice

Young girl

Puppeteer

Metadiscourse on puppet theatre

Apparition of the puppeteer

Flying machine

Comedy of language

Address to the public

Intervention of the audience

Ascension

Mr Fish and Mrs Bones

Polichinelle no longer wants to play traditional puppet shows. He aspires to be modern and leaves his puppeteer to become a television star. The puppeteer, who is committed to tradition, grieves for Polichinelle and continues his shows with other puppets. Polichinelle is criticized by the viewers and causes trouble for the television program. He asks for the puppeteer’s help. Eventually, he comes back to him.

Glove-puppet

Video footage

Adults

France

Montpellier

Modernity

Tradition

Rupture

Television

Stardom

Humorous

Black comedy

Robert Destanque, Le Caprice de Polichinelle, 2003.

French

Polichinelle

Landlord

Constable

Colombine

Arlecchino

Pierrot

Announcer

Television presenter (woman)

Speakerine

Voice

Dialogue between actor and puppet

Talking on the phone

Monologue

Screen on stage

Throws

Song

Word warping

Le Caprice de Polichinelle

Polichinelle's Whim