The shepherdess Philis is loved by Silvandre, whom she loves in return, but she is also courted by Microton. Dorine promises Philis that she will ask the magician Orcan to calm Microton's ardour. Surprising Philis and Silvandre's love dialogue, Microton calls on Orcan to take revenge on Silvandre and force Philis to love him. Orcan performs various magic tricks. He has prepared the potion, but Microton refuses to go and thank the demons. Orcan tries to seduce Elise, who rejects him. Philis reveals to Silvandre that Microton has played the role of a guardian for her. The god of love appears and promises to help Silvandre. Elise convinces Orcan to support Silvandre and Philis' love and to cure Microton of his madness. Orcan forces Microton to go and see the Demons; il conjures up Goblins, Serpents, a Dragon, Demons that frighten Microton and make him give up Philis. Microton announces that he will devote himself only to his flock. Orcan laughs at him. Microton gets angry, but he realises that he has been magically cured of his love for Philis and joins the wedding banquet. Microton wants to eat some of the dishes, but they turn into snakes and toads. The appearance of demons makes Microton run away. Shepherds and shepherdesses sing and dance.

Marionette with counterweight

Not specified

La Grille (Dominique de Normandin, aka Sieur de La Grille)

France

Paris

Printed summary

Rivalry in love

Magic

Animals, Mythical

Animated object

Unwelcome seducer

French

ou les charmes d'Orcan

Hunter

Sheperherdess

Devil

Statue

Gardener

Magician

Love

Bohemian woman

Goblin

Snake

Dragon

Caterer

Shepherd

Apparition

Metamorphosis

Les Amours de Microton

Microton's Loves

Kasperl is the knight Kuno’s squire. While hunting in the woods, he meets a hermit who offers him food and drink. As he is in a good mood, Kasperl slaps him in the face. The situation degenerates and he ends up skewering the hermit on his halberd. Kuno arrives, unaware of this. The magician Murischuripixtimixtistopheles sets out to capture them both and cook them in his wizard's kitchen. He transforms into a monster and wants to eat Kasperl: Kasperl feeds him the hermit's corpse, but this is not enough to satisfy him. Kasperl then hits him with his halberd until he collapses, dead. The knight Kuno finally arrives, but the magician suddenly reappears: the monster was only an illusion. Kuno runs away. Kasperl does not have time to follow him. The magician takes him into his service and gives him a cauldron to watch over, threatening to cook him in the cauldron if he does his job badly. But instead, Kasperl pushes him into the cauldron, which explodes: Kasperl flies to the moon and returns to Earth after visiting all the taverns there...

String marionette

Young audiences

Pocci Franz von

Germany

Munich

Printed

Middle Ages

Knighthood

Troubadour

Squire

Wood

Forest

Gluttony

Sorcery

Moon

Heroism

Assassination

Tavern

Farcical

Parodistic

German

Ein Ritterstück aus dem finstern Mittelalter

Hermit

Kasperl

Knight

Der Zauberer Murischuripixtimixtistopheles

Sung scenes

Address to the public

Monologue

Versified passages

Metatheatre

Word for another

Parody of formal language

Blow-with-a-stick

Murder on stage

Apparition of the Devil

Pyrotechnics

Magic act

Stichomythia

Macaronism

Kasperls Heldentaten

The heroic deeds of Kasperl

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.

Fühmann Franz

Märkisch Buchholz

Tyranny

Slave

Emancipation

Reign

Despotism

Turkey

Forecast

Discussions

Tolerance

Vocation

Coffee

Slogan

Politics

Civism

Couple

Society

Black

Humorous

Fantasy

Satirical

Wie wird man Oberdiskutierer

Fat lady

Sultan

Spectacular turn of events

Intervention of the audience

Imbroglio

Talking animal

Song

Object coming to life

Political allegory

Prologue

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

Wonderland

German Democratic Republic (GDR)

Socialism

Freedom

Jail

Bird

Animal

Childhood

Sexuality

Chickadee

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

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

One morning, in a house with a garden, two children walk a robot-dog and ask each other questions about the world: how can we measure love? why does the sky change colours? when a flower is plucked, does it hurt?
The children keep asking questions, and try to answer some of them: is a storm just an angry cloud? can we find infinity where the sea ends?
This journey in the world of whys is completed by several stories in which eccentric characters like a balloon-hippopotamus, a widow-caterpillar, and a cow-fish mix with Humpty Dumpty, Hansel and Gretel, and the Little Prince. The children tell their stories while doing household chores. The widow-caterpillar saw her husband die, run over by a bike, but she remains cheerful. The balloon-hippopotamus has been floating in the sky since the previous summer, but only the little girl can see it. As for the cow-fish, it appeared the day several cows fell in the sea and transformed after eating seaweed. The last story of the day chosen by the children is the one about Bicho Papão (Bogeyman) because he is not so evil after all.

Rod puppet

Full-view manipulation

Costume puppet

Actor and puppet

All audiences

Portugal

Porto

Friendship

Identity

Topsy-turvy world

Nature

Philosophical tale

Comical

João Paulo Seara Cardoso, A Cor do Céu, Teatro de Marionetas do Porto, 2004.