<p>Due to an economic crisis, all performances were suspended and the puppets were stored in plastic bags. Only the Economico puppet, which can play all the characters by simply changing its head, continues to perform. Arlecchino has had his mask taken away and his heart has fled in search of it. Even his stick has abandoned him: without his mask, Arlequin's wrinkled old face no longer makes anyone laugh. Ginetto the rabbit is afraid of having his ears cut off, Colombine is the victim of a hysterical pregnancy, and Crocodile, like an accountant collecting taxes, is always ready to swallow anything. However, the puppets trapped in the bags manage to free themselves by breaking the regime imposed by the Economico and, following Arlecchino, go in search of lost fairy tales and a beating heart.</p>

Glove-puppet

Bare hand

Not specified

Brunello Gigio

Molnár Gyula (aka Giulio Molnár)

Italy

Mogliano Veneto

Printed

Economic crisis

Financial crisis

Poetry

Fairy

Heart

Stick

Pregnancy

Tale

Rabbit

Absurd

Comical

Fantasy

Italian

Generico

Arlecchino

Batocchio

Colombina

Balanzone

Brighella

Postman

Crocodile

Song

Change of size on sight

Childbirth on stage

Captatio benevolentiae

Engulfment

Personified object

Metadiscourse on puppet theatre

Visual distortion

Allegory

Blow-with-a-stick

Political allegory

Address to the public

Rehearsal (play within a play)

Come gli Etruschi uscirono dalla crisi

<p>The man with the wrought-iron heart – now an old man – relates his story. He reminisces about his childhood, and thinks about the first time he played the piano – a moment which coincided with the death of his younger brother. It is now him who plays the piano for a child.</p>