Prologus addresses the spectators in order to get their attention. Argumentator then summarises the story that is about to be performed. Jonas enters and expresses his fear that God might punish Israel for it has wandered away from God and it now lives in sin. God appears and orders Jonas to go to the large city of Nineveh in order to tell its inhabitants that they must repent in the span of forty days, for God is prepared to punish them. Jonas refuses and explains that he has already tried in vain to set Israel back on the right path. He embarks on a boat but a tempest threatens to sink it. The sailors look for Jonas, who is asleep in the hold, and they ask him to pray to his god to save them. They draw lots and Jonas is chosen: he advises them to throw him overboard for he might be the cause of God’s wrath. A whale comes and swallows Jonas alive, and the boat sails away. The whale spits Jonas out. He thanks God for having been saved. God reappears and orders him to go preach in Nineveh again, adding that he forgives whoever he wants. Samuel, a Jewish prisoner in Nineveh, laments his fate and the sins of the city. Jonas arrives and tells him about the mission God has entrusted him with - to exhort the inhabitants to repent if they do not want to be punished. Then, he tells him about his adventure at sea and how he was swallowed by a whale. Once at the gate of Nineveh, Jonas is stopped by a guard who enquires about his intentions and tells him about the great size of the city. An Epicure appears and declares that one must eat, drink and live in constant pleasure. Jonas, standing in a square of the city, and encouraged by God, shouts three times at Nineveh, announcing the destruction of the city in forty days, should its inhabitants choose not to repent beforehand. Mean children come to mock him, but they are reprimanded by an employee of the city. The Bailiff makes enquiries about the situation; he takes Jonas’ prophecy seriously and orders the inhabitants of the city to repent and pray. Two peasants appear. One of them believes in Jonas' prediction, while the other does not. The same contrast is found between two virgins, and then two worried nobles. A big gourd seedling grows above Jonas to protect him from the burning sun. The Chancellor and the King arrive and they reflect on what they should do. The king decides to issue an edict which would force his subjects to repent, then gives up on his royal insignia, dons a sackcloth, and sprinkles ashes on himself in order to expiate his sins. On the fortieth day, the King presents himself before God who forgives them, moved by the sincerity of the repentance of the inhabitants of Nineveh. Jonas is angry about this turnaround, but he eventually submits to the divine decision. The play ends with an address to the audience which builds a link between Nineveh’s sins and those of the present, assuring that God will also forgive anyone who repents.

Giant marionette

Not specified

Germany

Augsburg

Printed

Disobedience

Miracle

Prophecy

Threat

Forgiveness

Religious

Fantasy

German

Ein lustigs, auch kurtzes, und nicht minder nutzes Spiel von der Bußpredigt Jona des Propheten zu Ninive, Und wie alles Volck der Stadt, seinen Worten glaubt, und ernstliche Buß gethan habe

God (monotheism)

Sailor

Prisoner

Guard

Peasant (man)

Virgin

Chancellor

King

Play in verse

Monologue

Apparition of a god

Boat mounted on wheels

Apparition of a monster

Oration

Metamorphosis

Jonas

Alvarès makes his son Guzman a bailiff and promises that he will marry Alzire. Alvarès convinces Alzire’s father, Monteze, to have her marry Guzman. Alzire believes that her fiancé Zamore is dead, but he is released from prison. When he learns that Alzire will marry Guzman, Zamore tries to kill him and thinks that he has succeeded. Zamore and Alvire, who is thought to be his accomplice, are sentenced to death. Just when Zamore is about to be hanged, Guzman appears, wounded. He forgives Zamore and lets him marry Alzire.

Rod and string marionette

France

Paris

Manuscript with songs and dialogue summaries

Latin America

Jail

Murder

Bailiff

Indigenous people

Death penalty

Obedience

Forced marriage

Parodistic

Comical

La Fille obéissante, manuscript Collection Soleinne (Ms FF 9313), Bibliothèque nationale de France.

French

Parodie d'Alzire

Polichinelle

Mother Gigogne

Waiter

Spectacular turn of events

Tragic conflict

Fake death

Hanging scene

La Fille obéissante

The obedient Daughter

Victor is in love with Clémence, the daughter of the Baron de Fritzierne. Moreover, a long time ago, Victor was found in the forest by the Baron de Fitzierne and raised like his own son. Victor reveals to Clémence that he is not her brother. Clémence is thrilled and believes that they can finally marry. However, Victor wants to run away: he is afraid to ask the Baron for Clémence’s hand, for he is convinced that, without wealth, we will never get his consent. Forban, a bandit, gives Victor a letter that was meant for the Baron, and assures him that it can save his life. Meanwhile, Clémence has revealed everything to her father, who now wants to see Victor. Together, the Baron, Clémence, and Victor read the letter sent by Roger, the leader of the bandits. A few days before, the Baron’s men freed Madame Germain, a woman captured by Roger. The latter now demands that the Baron bring her back to him within twenty four hours, or he will seek revenge. The Baron refuses to yield and asks for his army to be prepared to face Roger. The Baron puts Victor to the test: to marry Clémence, he will have to prove that his parents are honest and honourable people, even if they are poor. The battle starts. Victor fights Roger, but Madame Germain intervenes and saves the bandits’ leader. The Baron asks for explanations. The truth comes out: Roger is actually Victor’s father, and Madame Germain was the friend of his mother Adèle. Adèle had entrusted Madame Germain with a mission: to save her son. Madame Germain had then kidnapped Victor and let him in the forest, where he was found by the Baron. When he had discovered this, Roger, enraged, had killed Adèle. The Baron gives Victor one last chance: if he convinces his father to stop his criminal activities, he will marry Clémence. Victor finds Roger and tells him that he is his son. Roger refuses to give up his lifestyle, even though he loves him. In the end, he sacrifices himself to protect Victor and Clémence when the camp is attacked. Fatally wounded, he asks the Baron in his last breath to not judge Victor because of his lineage, and to approve his union with Clémence.

String marionette

All audiences

Family

Love

Escape

Friendship

Mysterious letter

Army

Combat

Sacrifice

Relationship between father and son

Honour

Melodramatic

Heroic

Leader

Brigand

Baron

Young man

Old man

Lieutenant

Officer

Soldier

Daughter

Lady

Revelation

Letter

Off-stage voice

Aside

Off-stage noise

Battle cries with several voices

Off-stage combat

Fight to the death

Death on stage

Victor ou l'Enfant de la forêt

Victor or the Child of the forest

The daughter of the emperor Otto bemoans her life as a nun in a convent. In contrast with her, the king of Bohemia, Eginhard, would like to live a secluded life in the forest but the private tutor Dietwaldus manages to arouse his desire for Otto’s beautiful daughter; he also offers to help her escape. A series of metamorphoses blurs the characters’ identities; the nun and Dietwaldus go back between their original form and that of diabolical beings. In the convent, the nun yields to the request of Dietwaldus, who has transformed into a nun himself: she agrees to flee. In his room, the emperor Otto curses his daughter. A magical mirror shows her wedding at the court of Bohemia. The emperor’s death threats reach Eginhard; he regrets having followed Dietwaldus’s advice. The advisor stabs himself with his sword; a devil appears and carries his corpse. The king Eginhard and his wife now live hidden in the Bohemian Forest. The emperor has sent his army to look for them, destroying every neighbouring village. All his men are dead, save for a squire with whom he travels through the woods; they narrowly escape the wolves. They reach the castle in which Eginhard’s court has taken refuge, and go to sleep in a room quickly prepared for them before they arrived. Everyone spies on them through a magical mirror which has been transformed into a window. The king Eginhard and his wife hear the emperor expressing regret. They then walk into the room and ask to be whipped to be forgiven. Moved, the emperor calls for the peace and unity of the kingdom. The heads of the people gathered transform into the heads of animals as well as of poets and philosophers known for their antagonisms and bad blood…

Shadow theatre

Kerner Justinus

Middle Ages

Forest

Magic object

Deal with the Devil

Burlesque

Pathetic

Flyleaf of the original edition of Reiseschatten

Dwarf

Emperor

Preceptor

Table

Devil

Bohemian woman

Fairy

Horseman

Teacher

Mouse

Poodle

Running gag

Accumulation of events

Mise-en-abyme

Dinner scene

Hidden character

Spying scene

Night scene

Barker

Characters merging with one another

König Eginhard

King Eginhard

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.

Servant

Thief

Inheritance

Jewel

Curse

Journey

Game of chance

Bankruptcy

Misery

Return

Edifying

Father

Domestic servant

Valet

Knight

Host

Young woman

Fiancée

Sung scenes

Situation comedy

Song

Apparition of an angel

Change of social status

L'Enfant prodigue

The Prodigal Child

While fishing in a lake despite the prohibition, Casperl catches a crawfish, which tells him its story: it is actually called Zimbimbimperl and was transformed into a crawfish by her father, the magician Crocodilus, after a violent argument with her mother, the Egyptian fairy Persea. Persea travels the world to find her daughter, when she meets Casperl who informs her of Zimbimbimperl's fate. The gods of Egypt return her daughter to her, but demand that she sacrifices Casperl to them in return. In the meantime, Crocodilus has been captured and sold in a menagerie. But he manages to escape and takes refuge in the lake, surprising the reunion of mother and daughter. He wants to devour them, but Casperl intervenes and knocks him out. Crocodilus is calmed by the blow to the head. He has barely reconciled with his family when the owner of the Löwenmajer menagerie comes to claim him for his circus. Casperl kills him and declares the sacrifice to the gods complete. The play ends with a grand finale and an apotheosis of 'Casperl the Wise'.

Young audiences

Pocci Franz von

Munich

Rail transport

Inflation

Fishing

Waste

Scatology

Egypt

Lost child

Menagerie

Magic

Freemasonry

Oriental wisdom

Farcical

Satirical

Oder der Verzauberte Krebs

Magician

Kasperl

Madame Kasperl

Miller

Tamer

Fish

Talking animal

Brawl

Parody of formal language

Instrumental tune

Address to the public

Chorus

Metatheatre

Thunderbolt

Board

Transforming scenery

Crocodilus und Persea

Crocodilus and Persea

Young candidates for marriage are swallowed whole by the Trou du Mariage (the Marriage Hole). Tévibar, who was swallowed, manages to come back out of the Hole. The Grand Sage Matoumoisien (The Great Wise Matoumasian) lets him know that this Hole makes the fake, the ugly, and the bad disappear; and because he was not swallowed, he might be the one who has come to forgive everyone and put an end to the threat of the Hole. Tévibar introduces himself to the assembly of the Grands Sages (the Great Wise Men) pretending to be who they expect him to be: Matoum. However, he has to accomplish three miracles and overcome the trial of the Trou de Justice (Hole of Justice). Tévibar makes the Grands Sages believe that he has overcome the first two miracles and then knocks them all out. He becomes a tyrant to all the people of Matoumoisie but ends up having to pass the trial of the Trou de Justice - it swallows him whole as he confesses to his deception. Matoum arrives to accomplish all the expected miracles. He transforms Matoumoisie, spreading joy and reconciliation but Tévibar stabs him. When the time comes to bury Matoum, his coffin is empty. Everybody bursts out laughing.