Surprised by a downpour, Prince Alfred and his companion von Edelfels take refuge in Casperl’s household while Grethl waits for her husband to return from the inn. Casperl arrives in a very drunken state and immediately falls asleep. The prince, who had retired with von Edelfels to a nearby hovel, has an idea for a joke. He has the sleeping Casperl taken to a luxurious room, where he is treated with full honours. Soon Casperl does not know whether he is Casperl or Prince Schnuri... Pretending to be his doctor, Prince Alfred gives him a sleeping pill, and Casperl wakes up a few hours later in his old room. Von Edelfels, disguised as a magician, assures him that he is indeed Prince Schnuri, but that as a punishment for being a drunkard he has been turnt into a ‘dumb man’. Casperl finds Grethl and promises to make amends, all while announcing that he will drink many more litres of beer.

String marionette

Young audiences

Pocci Franz von

Germany

Munich

Printed

Excessive drinking

Household

Rain

Joke

Aristocracy

Luxury

Sausage

Metempsychosis

Black

Doctor

Magic

Otto von Bismarck

Tavern

Comical

German

Moralische Komödie in drei Aufzügen

Prince

Kasperl

Madame Kasperl

Moorish

Valet

Monologue

Off-stage voices

Spying scene

Parody of formal language

Word for another

Disguise

Cross-dressing

Brawl

Pyrotechnics

Board

Current affairs

Incognito

Casperl als Prinz

Casperl prince

Blind Woman is lying on her bed, which is on top of her house, and narrating her unsuccessful love stories to Doctor Fell. Her tale lasts for a few days. It ends when the curtain falls and a Marionette comes to announce that the Theatre Director found a way to make her stop her storytelling by gifting her a ring which grants one wish. Blind Woman declares to Doctor Fell that she wants revenge on Jupiter. Thanks to the ring, she turns into a Sphinx to force Jupiter to surrender to her power by asking him riddles. She asks Doctor Fell to dress up as a nanny. Jupiter is sailing at sea, dressed as a ship’s captain. He receives a call from Mama Ops, his mother, who wishes him to meet a smart woman and lets him know that she revealed his location to Blind Woman. Jupiter is distraught and reaches the boat of Blind Boy, Cockatrice, and Columbus, who also decide to dress up to mislead Blind Woman. The latter awaits Jupiter on a dock, under the guise of a Sphinx. She is persuaded that he disguised himself as a woman to get away from her. Jupiter, as a captain, lands with Blind-Boy, Cockatrice, and Columbus, who cross-dress as the Three Graces. Blind Woman, who thinks Cockatrice to be Jupiter, asks him a riddle and snatches his veil. Cockatrice appears, wearing a nightgown and makeup as a lady. Blind Woman faints into Doctor Fell’s arms while the others take this opportunity to get back on the ship and flee. 
When she comes to her senses, she meets a Watchman and tries to trick him with a riddle as well, while the curtain falls.

Not specified

Craig Edward Gordon

Italy

Marina di Pisa

Latin Mythology

Mother

Seduction

Sphinx

Riddle

Boat

Adventure

Satirical

Fantasy

English

Blind

Physician

Puppet

Jupiter (Jove)

Cybele

Rhea

Blind Boy

Cockatrice

Basilic

Parrot

Columbus

Sailor

Mayor

City councillor

Night watchman

Ellipsis

Lowering the curtain during action

Address to the public

Metamorphosis

Boat mounted on wheels

Talking on the phone

Scene of recognition

Disguised character (false identity)

Comic speech

Instrumental tune

Anachronism

Jupiter & the Sphinx

Jupiter et le Sphinx

The Duke has summoned an assembly in order to decide who will be his representative at the tournament organized by the Duke of Bato. Clara, his daughter, hopes that she will be chosen, but the Duke chooses Seigneur Hubert and then Seigneur Herbert instead. They both refuse. The Duke sends Clara and Tchantchès to fetch Robert, the last knight. Robert, utterly crazy, cannot represent the Duke at the tournament. Clara decides that she will participate in the tournament by pretending to be Robert. At this moment, Clara and Tchantchès are attacked by highwaymen but they manage to push them away. The leader of the highwaymen falls in love with Clara. Clara, dressed as a knight, and Tchantchès go to the palace of the Duke of Bato. The tournament starts with a fight between Clara and a knight who is taller than her. The knight discovers that he is fighting against a woman. The Duke of Bato is furious; he sees Clara’s participation as an insult and he wants revenge. Clara and Tchantchès find the leader of the highwaymen. He joins them, and they fight the Duke of Bato’s army and win the battle. Clara’s father, who arrives too late, finally understands that “a woman is worth just as much, if not more, than a man”. He evenetually accepts that his daughter becomes a knight. Tchantchès advises the leader of the highwaymen to join the Duke’s army in order to see Clara more often.

Single rod marionettes

Belgium

Liège

Typed or electronic text with handwritten annotations

Knighthood

Gender equality

Female warrior

Tournament

Didactic

Heroic

French

Tchantchès

Duke

Knight

Leader

Battlefield scene

Chevaleresse

The Female Knight

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.