The widow Werner lives with her young son Ludwig in misery: a sad Christmas is coming. To surprise her son, Mrs Werner goes out to buy a small pine tree and some apples. In her absence, Ludwig writes a letter to baby Jesus, asking for an illustrated Bible: he throws the letter out of the window addressing it to the angels. On Christmas morning, a package is delivered containing the Bible he asked for. The donor is Friedrich Walter, an old friend of the deceased Karl Werner: he has just returned from a long trip to the Orient and is inquiring at the police station about the widow's address, when some officers tell him of the amusing discovery of Ludwig's letter. Friedrich Walter takes the widow and child under his protection.

String marionette

Young audiences

Pocci Franz von

Germany

Munich

Printed

Poverty

Reading

Education

Hanswurst

Kasperl

Bible

Childhood

Crib

Piety

Sentimentalism

Social realism

Christmas

Realist

Pathetic

German

Metatheatre

Monologue

Letter

Transforming scenery

Chorus

Deus ex machina

Der Weihnachts-Brief

Christmas Letter

The rich Cassandre, desperate for his foolish and insolent son Pierrot, is prepared to hire a very expensive tutor. Polichinelle is hired, but his bad lessons in obedience, geography, arithmetic, morals and fencing immediately turn Pierrot into a brawler, drinker, liar and thief who ends up being hanged for swindling Arlequin, the cabaret owner. When Cassandra complains to Polichinelle, he kills him with a stick. Denounced by Arlequin as Pierrot's accomplice, Polichinelle kills the gendarme who came to arrest him. He is taken away by the Devil.

Glove-puppet

All audiences

France

Paris

Duranty Louis Émile Edmond

Relationship between father and son

Silliness

Cheekiness

Lesson

Swindling

Hanging

Comical

Farcical

Satirical

French

Polichinelle

Pierrot

Arlecchino

Gendarme

Devil

Slaps

Blow-with-a-stick

Headbutt

Final intervention of the devil

Hanging scene

Polichinelle précepteur

Polichinelle preceptor

A stray dog, Rosegó, is rescue by Lluc who has just lost his own dog. The master tries to train Rosegó, to make him play football and to teach him some circus tricks, but without bothering about what the dog really wants to do. The dog, on his side, tries to teach Lluc to bark and raise his paw, but he refuses. Disappointed, Rosegó leaves the house because his freedom is not respected. Lluc and Rosegó eventually regret their decision, reconcile and decide to live together in mutual respect. A jazz band of dogs, friends of Rosegó, comes to sing a song.

Molins Manuel

Spain

Valencia

Alcoy

Tolerance

Respect

Difference

Training (animals)

Freedom

Allegorical fable

Otherness

Didactic

Dramatic

Catalan

Spectacular show acts

Instrumental tune

Final song

Talking animal

Rosegó, el rodamón

Rosegó, the wanderer

After a prologue where Pulcinella introduces the play and the dog sings a song, Teresina is attacked by a man in the street. The Moon appears to Teresina and calls her to come in a bid to protect her. Pulcinella looks for his beloved but the Moon prevents him from approaching. Pulcinella disguises himself as a woman, he is attacked by the same man as Teresina, and is then pursued by Death disguised as a policeman who wants to tire him out with domestic chores. Pulcinella flies off to the Moon and persuades Teresina to come back with him. Back on Earth, the two lovers take revenge on their attacker, who turns out to be a child calling out to his mother for help, and they eat a dish of spaghetti.