Polichinelle and the Compère talk about a naval battle which has just taken place. A troupe of French and Italian comedians is attacked at sea by corsairs led by a French renegade. The latter brings them to Tunis. The actors put on a show for the Gouverneur (Governor), scare the audience with Arlequin’s mask and are sent to work in the fields. The actresses reject the Gouverneur’s advances (Governor). The renegade plans their escape, so that they can go back to France.

Not specified

France

Paris

Manuscript

Relationship between Christians and Muslims

Tunisia

Corsair

Slavery

Treason

Renegade

Harassment

Minor news

Agriculture

Censorship

Dramatic

French

Actor

Polichinelle

The Interpreter

Soldier

Pierrot

Messenger

Swiss

Léandre

Pantaloon

Arlecchino

Theatre within the theatre

Song

Masked characters

Avista

Prologue

Comical foreign accent

Dialogue with a character in the audience

Current affairs

Naval combat

La Prise d'une troupe de comédiens par un corsaire de Tunis au mois de septembre 1740

A troupe of actors captured by a corsair from Tunis in September 1740

In the first part, Roberto talks to the Intendente (Police officer) about the beauty of the play that is about to start; he asks him for permission to perform it. The Intendente allows him to speak; he is thus symbolising censorship. Roberto introduces himself as a “child of the people” but also as “the grandson of Gil Vicente”, the famous Portuguese playwright (1465?-1536?); he requests a round of applause. In the second and third parts, Roberto simply reveals the title of the plays that are to be performed.

Glove-puppet

Santa-Rita Augusto de (aka Santa-Rita)

Portugal

Lisbon

Typed or electronic text with handwritten annotations

Dom Roberto

Police

Comical

Augusto de Santa Rita, Prólogo (first page with the censorship approval stamp).

Portuguese

Roberto

Policeman

Gil Vicente

Announcer

Metatheatre

Prólogo

A French journalist – François – is in a country at war to work on a report. He is welcomed by Malik – the leader of one of the camps, a collector of weapons and a fan of the Western consumer society and of the soap opera Santa Barbara. François also meets a sculptor monk, who happily guards the “cemetery of idiots”, and Marcel, a blind professor who philosophises about the fall of communism and the moral misery of humanity. François shows more and more aversion to the trade of journalism, which forces him to seek for the most gruesome news, and aversion also to humanity as a whole. The rats take an interest in this personal crisis: they are looking to communicate with him. Then the journalist meets the leader of the enemy camp, who happens to be Malik. For years, the militiamen have been fighting against themselves, playing the role of two enemy camps. The rats explain their inter-species cooperation project to François, the aim of which is to clean up the waste on Earth, and to purge humanity of its metaphysical stain. A world summit of good neighbourliness is organised in Luxembourg, to discuss the modalities of the alliance. But the rats are too visible and so the situation slowly deteriorates. The play ends with François’ burial in the “cemetery of idiots”.