The people are against the reign of the countess Jeanne de Flandre (Joan of Flanders) and demand the return of her father, Comte Baudoin (Count Baldwin). Sire Raoul de Mauléon (Lord Raoul of Mauléon), Jeanne’s faithful servant, asks her for an audience. He reminds her of all the crimes he committed to get her the crown, and demands a reward. Their meeting is suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Sire Hubert (Lord Hubert) who announces that Comte Baudoin is alive and on his way to the court. As soon as he arrives, Jeanne will lose her crown. Determined to keep her power, she summons Burgue, another servant, and orders him to search for the man pretending to be Comte Baudoin. Shortly after, she announces that she will marry Sire Raoul de Mauléon, but she is interrupted by Comte Baudoin. The confrontation between the father and the daughter leads them to be summoned before the Court of Roi Louis VIII (King Louis VIII). During the trial, the Roi asks three questions in order to verify the identity of Comte Baudoin. The Comte fails to answer the last one. However, Sire Hubert intervenes, accompanied by Marguerite, another daughter of the Comte. Marguerite recognises her father, but it is not enough: Jeanne requires the “judgement of God”–a fight. Mauléon will fight for her, and Pierre de la Cy will defend Comte Baudoin. At the end of the fight, Pierre de la Cy is defeated and killed. Marguerite begs the Roi to let her follow her father in prison, and he accepts. Jeanne then goes to see the imprisoned Comte to force him to deny his identity by signing a document, but he refuses. Later, Sire Raoul de Mauléon is very remorseful and tries to convince Jeanne to end their criminal activity. She firmly refuses and orders Burgue to suppress him. However, Mauléon survives. Meanwhile, Sire Hubert and other Seigneurs (Lords) manage to free Comte Baudoin. Mauléon comes back and murders Jeanne before the eyes of Comte Baudoin and of the people; he is then killed by Sire Hubert.

String marionette

All audiences

France

Printed

People

Countess

Crime

Crown

Power

Father-daughter relationship

Justice

Jail

Freedom

Remorse

Death

Melodramatic

French

Count

Lord

Knight

King

Cardinal

Guard

Soldier

Daughter

Off-stage noise

Aside

False exit

Court scene

Fight to the death

Death on stage

Release of a prisoner

Jeanne de Flandre

Joan of Flanders

As he is hunting with his men, a king meets tumblers travelling from Bohemia in a caravan. He invites them to perform at his palace in the evening. Captivated by the dance of one of the young Bohemian women, the king falls in love. He accommodates the troupe for ten days and asks the woman to meet with him every night. One morning, eager to be free and on the road again, the young woman leaves. Desperate and jealous as lovers consult the oracle of the flowers just under his window, the king feels a surge of anger and officially rules that love is forbidden in the kingdom. Soldiers spy on the lovers, who still meet in secret. Plants wither. Outraged, the people are about to attack the palace; at this moment, however, the young Bohemian comes back: her return and her dance prevent the massacre. Cheered on, she marries the king and gives the lovers the right to love themselves freely again. The four-leaf clovers, which are reminders of unhappy times, are pulled up. The tumblers’ caravan leaves for Bohemia, leaving the young dancer with royal ceremonies that already smother her…

Shadow theatre

Not specified

Belgium

Brussels

Love

Flowers

Lyrical

Front cover of the book published in 1898

Dancer

Young woman

Tumbler

Lady in waiting

Page

Horserider

Young girl

Old woman

Poet

Singer

Dance

Character leaning against the window

Hunting scene

Silent scene

Spectacular turn of events

Procession

Voice

Le Trèfle à quatre feuilles

The Four-leaf clover

David is risking his life by spying for the Boers. When he learns that the English have gathered their forces outside Kimberley, he warns Louis Botha, the Boer General. Botha sends his infantry against the English. During the battle, David is captured, but the Boers free him. David shouts “Long live freedom!” as he retreats to Kimberley.

Rod and string marionette

Roubaix

Handwritten outline

Siege

People and history

Dramatic

Head of a puppet representing a Boer

Épisode de la guerre Anglo-Boers

General

Boer

Traitor

English man

Battlefield scene

Execution scene

La Bataille de Kimberley

The Siege of Kimberley

Two marionettes are hanging in a theatre. After some morning stretches, the First One, in great shape, wakes up the Second One, who is sad and busy pondering. The Second Puppet, persuaded to have a deep soul, lectures the First One, and explains the principles of Good and Evil. He claims to be a living actor and to have been freed from God, his maker, who has become powerless. However, he still needs the First One’s help to untie his strings and be able to move freely. The First One declares that he was created after Buddha. This statement makes The Second One feel bad and he starts gasping. He asks The First One to open the window and then the landscape. A house in Burma appears, inside it is the Burmese master who created The First Puppet. He is very old and on the verge of dying.

Craig Edward Gordon

Italy

Florence

Buddha

Creation

Revelation

Comical

Philosophical tale

English

The Scene

Puppet

Old man

Choir

Metatheatre

Metadiscourse on puppet theatre

Apparition

The First Prologue

Premier prologue

The first scene is set in the infirmary of a prisoner camp in Germany, at midnight, during the First World War. A French prisoner thinks about his lost loved ones: his wife, his son Jean (a pilot who died in combat), and his grand-children who were left orphans. At that moment arrives the Lune (Moon), “the Queen of Dreams”; she takes him to the land of dreams, and shows him a nursery in Hostiaz.
The second scene introduces an Ours en peluche (teddy Bear) sleeping on a child’s bed. The Lune addresses the Ours and during their conversation we learn that the Ours is in fact a shady businessman who fled to South America after ruining his shareholders. In vain, the Lune tries to convince the Ours to return the stolen money (represented by a diamond hidden in the Ours’ belly). She then starts sharing her heartbreaks: she is in love with Paul, a pilot who was amputated of both his legs. Having learnt of the Lune’s wealthiness, the Ours offers his services to help her gain the Aviateur’s (Pilot’s) love.
Paul opens the third scene, which is set in a living room, where he is with another character, the Rhabilleur (Clock restorer). The Lune tries to seduce Paul but he is the object of the Ours’ mockeries because he received a break-up letter from his fiancée. The Ours tries, in vain, to convince Paul to find comfort with the Lune. We learn that Paul is the brother-in-law of Jean, the dead pilot and son of the prisoner who appeared in the first scene.
A certain Rhodô, who is in love with Jean, took care of the children. The Ours decides to marry Paul to Rhodô because he is attracted to her, but she stays faithful to Jean. The Ours then tries to kiss Rhodô to get hold of her wallet. This triggers a general fight during which the Ours, with his belly ripped open, lets the diamond slip – it explodes in a blinding light. As the sun rises, all the characters run away. 
The fourth scene starts. All the puppets are on the main road. The Ours feels light now that he is rid of the diamond. The Choeur (Choir) and Rhodô teach Paul how to float in the air like a kite. A black dwarf arrives, driving a car. The puppets all climb into the car and drive off to a world beyond. 
The play ends at dawn with the Prisonnier (Prisoner) waking up. After having experienced the bliss of mystical freedom in his dream, he is now condemned to go back to this “eternal captivity”.

Glove-puppet

Brazil

Paris

Dream

Adventure

Moon

Bear

Money

Rivalry in love

Fighting

Renunciation

Fantastic

Satirical

Cover for the first edition: La Nouvelle Revue française, Gaston Gallimard, Paris, 1919.

Personification

Illusory world

Dreamt scene

Love rivalry

Brawl

Song

Ascent to heaven

L'Ours et la lune

The Bear and the Moon

Doña Caracolines, the wife of the merchant Don Berrendo, flirts with Infiernillo more than she should. Infiernillo is a shop assistant who writes sentimental poems to court her. The parrot of the house, Hermógenes, observes them. Don Berrendo comes back from his trip sooner than expected. Don Cristóbal gives him the order to clear his name. But as Don Berrendo tries to come closer to the lovers, a strange power stops him. The puppeteer (Titiritero) appears to remind them that they are not the masters of their own movements, but that they are handled by him. An argument starts, with the puppets demanding their independence and fighting for the author’s will against the manipulation of the puppeteer. The puppeteer disappears. Don Cristóbal explains to the audience that this conflict is the same conflict as the one between external reality and the reality invented by art, and he demands that the performance goes on as if nothing had happened. Don Berrendo has regained his freedom of movement and throws himself at Infiernillo. He beats him to death with his stick, accuses his wife of being unfaithful and is preparing to make her suffer the same fate as Infernillo when two Guards appear and stop him. Don Cristóbal discourses on the misfortune caused by women’s romantic desires, but Doña Caracolines tries to seduce him and to give him a kiss. Don Cristóbal resists: he asks for the curtain to fall in order to hide this indecency. Doña Caracolines claims her right to rebel against the author just like Don Cristóbal has rebelled against the Puppeteer. Then she becomes even more affectionate and Don Cristóbal eventually yields to her kisses.

Actor and puppet

Spain

Valencia

Unfaithfulness

Revolt

Puppeteer

Playwright

Farcical

José Ricardo Morales, Burlilla de don Berrendo. Madrid: Taurus, 1969 (front cover)

Spanish

Don Cristobita

Parrot

Neighbour

Seduction scene

Apparition of the puppeteer

Blow-with-a-stick

Burlilla de Don Berrendo, Doña Caracolines y su amante

Little jest with Don Berrendo, Doña Caracolines y su amante

Plum Plum is taking a walk. He runs into Plouf the dog but does not recognise him because the dog has caught a cold and is wearing a scarf. Plum Plum’s Maman (Mom) is looking for him because he left with a gun to go hunting. She finds him, but he shoots twice with the gun, out of fright. Plum Plum brings the gun back home and then continues hunting with a butterfly net. He catches Plouf. A princess is taking a walk in the forest. Zouzou the dragon appears, but he has the hiccups. He decides to kidnap the Princess. The Roi (king) calls for help and Plum Plum volunteers to go fight the dragon. He catches Zouzou in his net and the latter explains that he kidnapped the Princess so that someone would scare the hiccups out of him. Plum Plum threatens to cut his moustache off and to tie a saucepan to his tail. Zouzou is terrified and the hiccups go away. Plum Plum brings Zouzou to the king so that he can be taken to the zoo. The King and the Princess thank Plum Plum.

Young audiences

Dragon

Hunting

Fear

Miraculous cure

Fantasy

Mother

Princess

Address to the public

Fight with an animal

Plum Plum et le dragon Zouzou

Plum Plum and the dragon Zouzou

Princess Dana of Gurkistan is kidnapped and sequestered by the sorcerer Khalakuck and she must prepare him eight noodle dishes a day and clean his nose every morning. But after a year, the magician gives her a choice: either to marry him or be devoured! At this moment she discovers that the rocking horse that was in her room is none other than Prince Schaukelpferd from Spielzeugland transformed into a toy. With the help of Tziptzap, a magic tit (bird), they manage to escape from their prison, flying on Schaukelpferd’s back, which has grown wings during the night. But they are caught by Khalakuck. The prince knows that he only has three and a half metamorphoses left to win the final battle against the sorcerer. The tale ends with a triple wedding: the prince with the princess, the market gardener with the policeman, and Kasperl with Grete. The last couple was indeed already married, but marriage, according to Kasperl, is something you can never do too often.

Fühmann Franz

Germany

Berlin

Fairy play

Tale

Magic

Wonderland

German Democratic Republic (GDR)

Socialism

Emancipation

Bird

Animal

Childhood

Sexuality

Society

Chickadee

Sorcery

Pickle

Children's game

Horse

Animals, Mythical

Bans

Shortage

Economy

Majority

Adult

Castle

Market

Civism

Educational methods

Humorous

German

Prince

Magician

Die Spucke in der Bütte auf der Schwelle

Policeman

Kasperl

Madame Kasperl

Metamorphosis

Talking animal

Object coming to life

Magic act

Scene of recognition

Bawdy equivocation

Political allegory

Das Spiel von der glücklichen Flucht des Prinzen Schaukelpferd vom Spielzeugland mit der Prinzessin Dana von Gurkistan aus der Burg des bösen Zauberers Khalakuck

The play about the happy escape of Prince Rocking Horse of Toyland with Princess Dana of Gurkistan from the castle of the evil sorcerer Khalakuck