The ambitious Doctor Faust begins learning black magic and makes a deal with the devil Mephistopheles: he promises him his soul on condition that the latter agrees to serve him. Faust goes to Parma with Mephistopheles and his houseboy Hans Wurst. The houseboy was asked to keep the identity of his master secret, but he gives it away to the duke of Parma as soon as he arrives there. Faust makes several spectacular natural phenomena appear before the duke (Mount Etna erupting, a sea tempest) but the duke’s courtiers hate him for showing the duke their true nature. Faust is forced to flee. Although Hans Wurst is dismissed, he finds refuge with Wagner, Faust’s servant. Mephistopheles eventually secures Faust’s soul by making Helen of Troy fall in love with him. He also shows him that his generosity will not save him, because its benefits also had harmful effects on his protégés. Faust understands that he is damned, takes leave of Hans Wurst and Wagner, and hands himself over to Hell when midnight strikes.

Not specified

Germany

Augsburg

Printed

Scholar

Wittenberg

Necromancy

Sorcery

Vice

Cheekiness

Nature

Navy

Brokers

Scatology

Crucifix

Hell

Eternal punishment

Vanity

Tragic

Burlesque

First page of the play in Johann Scheible's edition, Das Kloster, 1847

German

Ein Trauerspiel in 3 Theilen und 9 Aufzügen. (Vom Augsburger Puppentheater.)

Faust

Genie

Guardian angel

Satan

Christoph Wagner

Hanswurst

Mephistopheles

Devil

Duke of Parma

Helen of Troy

Monologue

Dilemma

Instrumental tune

Board

Improvised scene

Lazzi

Word for another

Repetition of a word

Apparition

Pact with the devil

Bawdy equivocation

Flying machine

Diorama

Versified passages

Johann Faust

Kasperl leaves for America on a boat, but is swallowed by a whale that spits him out on an island inhabited by cannibals. They salt him and smear him in whale fat. Attracted by the smell of fat, an eagle kidnaps Kasperl on the verge of being eaten and takes him back to Europe. Kasperl manages to escape and meets a horseman who takes him back to his family. The play ends as a prologue with an invitation to take a seat in front of the puppet theatre for the start of the main performance.

Shadow theatre

Young audiences

Pocci Franz von

Munich

Boat

Navigation

America

Shipwreck

Fish

Leviathan

Unknown land

Island

Sausage

Beer

Thirst

Hunger

Cannibalism

Savage

Kidnapping

Horse

Family

Fantasy

Comical

Kasperl

Baleine

Cannibal

Eagle

Horserider

Mrs Kasperl

Child

Play in verse

Chorus

Sung scenes

Macaronism

Unexpected turn of events

Puppet theatre within the theatre

Kasperl bei den Menschenfressern

Kasperl among the anthropophagi

In Igor’s bar in Iceland, Erik le Rouge observes a curious whale that seems to be waiting for something. He relates his unhappy childhood and his life as a sailor to the barman, Benêt (the simpleton) and Vieux (the old man). He realises that the stranger, who took shelter from the rain in the bar, is his old captain. However, the stranger does not recognise him and leaves the bar. Then, Erik remembers the captain’s name – Igor – just before he (Erik) is swallowed by the whale.