Polichinelle, a “broken old man” with a beard and white hair, enters the scene followed by some Gamins (Kids) making fun of him. The Génie de la Fontaine Molière (the Fontaine Molière Genie) appears, chases away the Gamins and comforts Polichinelle: he complains about his old age and relates his past achievements in Italy, Germany, England and France. They are both sorry for the death of writer Charles Nodier (1780-1844), who had praised Polichinelle. The Génie makes the statue of Molière that ornates the fountain appear, and he tells Polichinelle to drink from the fountain. Polichinelle obeys and immediately rejuvenates. Arlequin, Colombine, Pierrot, Léandre and Cassandre appear with the cast of a ballet who invites Polichinelle to join everyone and dance.

Not specified

France

Paris

Manuscript

Old age

Aging

Laughter

Fantasy

Didactic

La Fontaine de jouvence, page from the manuscript

French

Polichinelle

Genie

Child

Personnages de l'ancienne Comédie Italienne

Arlecchino

Cassandre

Colombine

Pierrot

Leandre

Dancer

Multi-voice shouting

Play in verse

Avista

Change of age

Ballet

La Fontaine de jouvence

The Fountain of Youth

After the fair Hedwig is taken away from him, Don Juan seduces Zinkelinde, to the utter despair of her tutor Nuckel, who wants her to marry an old man – Purzel. Kasperle pretends to help them find Zinkelinde and puts the two old men in a box. He does not let them out until Nuckel agrees to let Don Juan marry Zinkelinde. As Purzel still tries to stop this union, Kasperle beats him with a stick.

E. Sédouard (Eduard Schlesinger)

Germany

Berlin

Printed

Seduction

Couple

Young girl

Forced marriage

Farcical

German

Der überrumpelte Hagestolz

Don Juan

Kasperl

Old man

Song

Sung scenes

Blow-with-a-stick

Confinement

Political allegory

Miséria est un vieux forgeron qui passe ses journées à travailler le fer. Son seul plaisir est de prendre soin de son noyer. Un jour, São Pedro (Saint Pierre) vient lui rendre visite, demandant un fer à cheval. Comme il ne lui en reste plus, Miséria lui propose de prendre celui qui est un porte-bonheur en argent. Quelques temps plus tard, São Pedro retourne chez Miséria, disant qu’il peut demander un souhait. Miséria demande que ceux qui grimpent dans son noyer pour voler des noix finissent prisonniers de l’arbre. 
Quand la Mort arrive pour chercher Miséria, il fait un pacte avec le diable, avec lequel il gagne 20 ans. Au bout de 20 ans, la Mort revient. A ce moment, Miséria lui demande un dernier souhait : qu’elle grimpe à l’arbre pour lui chercher une noix. Ainsi, la Mort devient prisonnière du noyer. Tant qu'elle est prisonnière de l'arbre, le soleil ne se couche plus, il n’y a plus de vent, les feuilles restent immobiles ; le monde s’est arrêté. Miséria finit pas libérer la Mort à condition qu’elle lui promette la vie éternelle. La Mort accepte, mais le prévient qu’il regrettera son souhait. La pièce finit avec le vieux forgeron qui travaille le fer, se plaignant de son sort : son arbre qui était la raison de son existence vient de mourir et il reste condamné à la vie éternelle.

Rod puppet

Full-view manipulation

Adults

Portugal

Porto

Magalhães Álvaro

Electronic text

Death

Tree

Deal with the Devil

Tale

Desires

Human condition

Future punishment

Time

Immortality

Philosophical tale

Tragic

Comical

Dramatic

Miséria (Teatro de Marionetas do Porto, 1991)

Portuguese

Blacksmith

Devil

Saint Peter

Voice

Apparition of a Saint

Narrator

Apparition of Death

Peasant accent

Change of voice

Smoke

Flying character

Music

Miséria

Misère

An old woman who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease is regularly visited by a caretaker. Following the caretaker’s advice, and to delay the consequences of her disease, she records her memories of the objects that surround her on audio cassettes. The audience discovers her story: her childhood in Paris during World War Two, the encounter with the father of her children, her love story with a woman she met in a feminist group in the seventies. The text is structured between daytime, with the recordings and dialogues, and nighttime, when the old woman monologues about the progress of her disease. As the days and nights pass, her state of health deteriorates until she has to be sent to a facility for dependent elderly persons.

Alzheimer

Remembrance

Memory

Homosexuality

Photography

Première(s) fois, éditions Lansman 2012

Old woman

Nursing assistant

Monologue

Speech-narrative

Recorded voice

Inner dialogue

Rewind

Convinced that there are people on the Moon, Pulcinella wonders where they are hiding. The Moon invites him to go to her on a funicular ship. He meets the lunatic Beniamino, who explains that everyone is terrorised and has been hiding since the American astronaut came. This astronaut claims that the Moon belongs to him, and he wants to kill Pulcinella. But Pulcinella sends him back to earth with a blow of a stick. Beniamino asks Pulcinella to look after a dead grandfather, who turns out to be a very beautiful baby. Death convinces Pulcinella to be his baby and sings him lullabies so that he falls asleep, but Pulcinella wakes up and fights Him. A monstrous dog plays with Pulcinella, but he is frightened when the cloned ewe Dolly bites him. Pulcinella kills Dolly and, as a reward, Beniamino offers him his wife Carlotta. Pulcinella chooses instead to marry their daughter Teresina, and he goes back to earth with her.