The Spanish grandee Don Marcello has two daughters: one is well-behaved (Eleonore), while the other is always uncooperative (Mariane). Mariane is in love with Count Alfonso, who killed his only brother in a sword fight. Mariane is to be sent to a monastery, but she asks her lover to run away with her. The count’s servant Casper steals the chimney sweep’s ladder and makes preparations for their escape. Egidio – a pious man – tries to stop them from fleeing, and he convinces Don Alfonso to give up on his venture. In the end, Egidio himself runs off with Mariane, who he is secretly in love with. They both join a group of thieves. Egidio kills their leader and replaces him. While Don Marcello is traveling with his other daughter, Eleonore, he is taken prisoner by Mariane, who hides behind a mask. Her father has not recognised her, and she obtains his blessing and forgiveness for having wronged him. When she meets Don Alfonso in the forest, she finds out that he did not betray her, and that he still loves her. She gives him a ring which he must give to Don Marcello, while telling him that his beloved is forever lost and that he, his father, will never see her again either. Mariane forces Casper to sell her as a slave to her father. When he arrives on Don Marcello’s grounds, Don Alfonso gives him the ring. As a consequence, Don Marcello believes that Don Alfonso plotted Mariane’s abduction, before abandoning her. Then Casper appears, disguised as a slave trader. Don Marcello wants to do a good deed by buying back the freedom of the slave he is selling. But Casper reveals that she is a thief. Then Mariane, disguised as a slave, goes as far as pretending that she is Mariane’s assassin. But her father recognises her and forgives her; her fiancé does the same. Egidio appears and confesses to what he has done. He is also forgiven. Mariane and Don Marcello are given permission to marry, and Egidio marries Eleonore. As for Casper, he eventually marries the chamber maid Charlotte, but only when she proposes to him – because this has become the established practice.

String marionette

Not specified

Germany

Crottendorf

Manuscript

Robber

Emancipation

Kidnapping

Women's condition

Father

Hypocrisy

Slavery

Nobility

Spain

Comical

Dramatic

Theaterzettel, Heinrich Rau, Eppendorf in Sachsen, before 1875

German

Der weibliche Straßenräuber

Noble

Count

Kasperl

Servant

Chambermaid

Chimney sweeper

Cross-dressing

Final wedding

Monologue

Disguise

Disguised character (false identity)

Mariane

A runaway slave meets a dragon which threatens to breathe fire on him; he asks the dragon whether it has the sultan’s permission to do so, predicting that the dragon will eat his former master before the guard kills it. But things do not turn out exactly as expected. Right before the audience, the dragon meets a knight who wants the sultan to recognise his superiority to become a knight too. The sultan refuses to talk, appointing the dragon to speak in his stead and authorising him to breathe fire on the knight. The slave returns in order to sit on the throne that he thinks empty – and it is indeed soon to be the case, because the sultan suddenly decides to follow in the deceased knight’s footsteps and take his place. Meanwhile, the fat Katja, who was dancing and singing for the sultan, has moved in with the dragon, and everyone is invited for coffee.

Young audiences

Fühmann Franz

Märkisch Buchholz

Printed

Tyranny

Slave

Animals, Mythical

Reign

Despotism

Turkey

Forecast

Discussions

Tolerance

Vocation

Coffee

Slogan

Politics

Civism

Love

Couple

Society

Black

Humorous

Fantasy

Satirical

Wie wird man Oberdiskutierer

Magician

Fat lady

Dragon

Sultan

Knight

Spectacular turn of events

Intervention of the audience

Imbroglio

Talking animal

Song

Object coming to life

Political allegory

Prologue

Address to the public

Personification

Optional scene

Dialogue of the deaf

Improvised scene

Der glückliche Ritter von Trinitat

The happy Knight of Trinitat

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.

Berlin

Fairy play

Tale

Magic

Wonderland

German Democratic Republic (GDR)

Socialism

Freedom

Jail

Bird

Animal

Childhood

Sexuality

Chickadee

Sorcery

Pickle

Children's game

Horse

Bans

Shortage

Economy

Majority

Adult

Castle

Market

Educational methods

Prince

Die Spucke in der Bütte auf der Schwelle

Policeman

Madame Kasperl

Metamorphosis

Magic act

Scene of recognition

Bawdy equivocation

Love story

Running away

Chase

Confinement

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