Benjamin, a young man, asks his servant Crasmagne to leave with him, not as a servant but as a mentor and a friend. Crasmagne is unsure at first, but as he is promised a great sum of money, he accepts. Benjamin tells him to meet him at midnight in a park. In the park, a strongbox is hidden inside a detached house; it is filled with jewels that used to belong to Benjamin’s mother. Benjamin orders Crasmagne to fetch the strongbox. Faced with his master’s threats, the servant has no choice but to oblige. However, once in possession of the strongbox, Crasmagne hides it somewhere else and pretends not to have found it. Furious, Benjamin enters the detached house to retrieve it. Meanwhile, Crasmagne, who is standing outside, sees Monsieur Lésimond, Benjamin’s father. Remorseful, he tells him the whole truth. Shortly after, Benjamin comes out of the house with the strongbox in one hand and a gun in the other. His father curses him and leaves. Crasmagne and Benjamin go to the “Coq Plumé” (Plucked Rooster) hotel. Once there, they meet the hostess and Javotte, her servant. Benjamin leaves Casmagne without a meal, and goes to have fun. However, their vacation soon turns to chaos: after gambling, they are thrown out of the hotel almost naked and penniless. Famished and exhausted, they encounter a peasant who offers them a job: Crasmagne becomes a valet and Benjamin a pig-keeper. Crasmagne dines with the peasant, leaving Benjamin alone with his thoughts: an angel appears and suggests for him to go back to his father. Shortly after, Crasmagne comes back with some soup and learns of Benjamin’s decision to go back home. Once home, Benjamin is forgiven by his father.

String marionette

All audiences

France

Printed

Servant

Relationship between father and son

Thief

Inheritance

Jewel

Curse

Journey

Game of chance

Bankruptcy

Misery

Return

Forgiveness

Comical

Edifying

French

Father

Young man

Domestic servant

Peasant

Valet

Knight

Host

Young woman

Fiancée

Aside

Sung scenes

Off-stage noise

Situation comedy

Song

Off-stage voice

Apparition of an angel

Change of social status

L'Enfant prodigue

The Prodigal Child

Arlequin disembarks on an unknown land after a long boat journey. He puts on a coat made of animal skin as a precaution and with the hope of fooling animals. A wild cat sees him and walks towards him. Arlequin imitates his language and behaviour, going as far as climbing a tree. Meanwhile, Asdrubal and Pied-de-Biche (Crowbar) are hunting the wild cat to bring his head to the court. They look up and see two silhouettes perched in the tree. When Arlequin talks to them, they think that he is a talking animal. Intrigued, they watch him get down from the tree. Arlequin reveals his true identity and catches the hunter’s attention with the cheerful tale of his adventures. Asdrubal and Pied-de-Biche are charmed by his wit and decide to make him king, for it is very rare to find a man in the kingdom of the Ogres. Starving, Arlequin demands a meal. The whole court starts thinking about what dinner to make for him and where to find human flesh. Arlequin finds out that he is supposed to eat human meat and orders Pierrot to fetch a pot and a bean. However, the Ogres bring a pot with the intention of cooking their new king–Arlequin–in it. Two Parisians, Scaramouche and Tape-Dur, arrive at this moment: they recognise Arlequin and save him. Scaramouche declares that he and the king “will subscribe the Ogres to the thirty-two sous restaurants of the Palais-Royal” so that they definitely renounce human flesh.

Young audiences

des Essarts Emmanuel

Paris

Kingdoms

Savage

King

Meals

Cannibalism

Restaurant

Fantasy

Alfred des Essarts, illustration for Le Naufrage d'Arlequin

Arlecchino

Chambellan

Hunter

Pierrot

Cook

Kitchen boy

Ogre

Ogress

Disguised character (false identity)

Chorus

Stabbing

Le Naufrage d’Arlequin

Arlequin in a shipwreck

Worried about his succession, the lion king Maghan listens to the predictions of fortune tellers and marries Sogolon Kédjou, the buffalo-woman, despite her ugliness; he has a son with her, Sunjata, who is destined to be king of Manding. This choice prompts the anger of his first wife, Sassouma Bérété, for Maghan is depriving their son, Dankara Touman, of his prestigious heritage. Young Sunjata grows up, but, at seven years old, still does not walk. The crowd rumbles against this infirm heir, becomes threatening and eventually declares Dankara Touman the head of the kingdom. Growing old, king Maghan, still believing the words of the fortune tellers, entrusts his griot to Sunjata, and by doing so, contests Dankara’s legitimacy. Exasperated, Sassouma Bérété solicits a group of witches to murder young Sunjata, but this plan fails. She demands that the griot be abducted and sent to the court of Manding’s great enemy, Soumaoro Kanté, king of Sosso. After a lively argument with his half-brother Dankara, Sunjata, driven out from the kingdom, goes into exile. He finds refuge at the court of king Mamé where he receives training and becomes a great warrior. In his absence, Soumaoro Kanté has had multiple conquests, thus leading to Dankara Touman taking flight, and to the doom of the kingdom of Manding. Called by his mother who implores him to come back in order to fulfil his destiny, Sunjata returns, applauded by the crowd. Determined, he declares war against Soumaoro Kanté. The griot relates Sunjata’s war exploits and sings his glorious posterity.

Body shadows

Shadow theatre

Not specified

Strasbourg

Aulnay-sous-bois

Electronic text

Africa

Oral tradition

Legendary King

Tale

Destiny

Bravery

Conquest

Revenge

Griot

Crowd

Ugliness

Infirmity

Music and esotericism

Disability

Epic

Dramatic

Amoros et Augustin and Ki-Yi M'Bock Théâtre, Sunjata, photograph of the performance