The wanderer Nabíh tells a child, Hassan, how the merchant Abdul found on a dead man’s body a bottle from which emerges a genie. This genie, in turn, tells the story of the dead man, a fallen king, father of Fatima, a princess who is said to have taken refuge among the desert dwellers because of the fratricidal war. The king's supporters are looking for Fatima to offer her the throne, and discover that she is Laïla, Hassan's mother. However, she renounces the throne to become the princess of the desert. Other stories are added to this main plot.

Shadow theatre

Rod puppet

String marionette

Young audiences

Sirera Rodolf

Spain

Valencia

Printed

Tale

Fantasy

Adventure

Vagrant

Genie

Theatre at school

East

Princess

Didactic

Catalan

Vagabond

Child

Merchant (man)

Commanding officer

Narrator

Address to the public

Theatre within the theatre

Appearance of a genius

Throws

Dance

Instrumental tune

La Princesa del desert

Princess of the Desert

The protagonist, Franz, is a young Viennese scientist who, during a hypnosis session conducted by Mesmer, learns that his cousin Angèlica, with whom he is in love, is in great danger. He decides to go to her rescue and, after many adventures, arrives in Budapest to find that she has just died. Convinced that she has been hypnotised by the alchemist Adam Le Fay, he keeps her body in ice, brings her back to his laboratory and tries various experiments to resurrect her. He fails and is accused of her murder by Napoleonic troops who have just entered Vienna. Sentenced to death, he is saved at the last moment by Le Fay who explains to him that if one of them dies, the other also perishes. They duel, Franz throws himself on Le Fay's sword, and both die at the same time. It is clear that they are two sides of the same personality, symbolising the conflict between rationalism and superstition.

Actor and puppet

Automaton

Adults

Rationalism

Science

Religion

Superstition

Alchemy

Symbolic journey

Hypnotism

Spiritisme

Death

Double

Divination

Supernatural

Imbroglio

Love

Dramatic

Fantastic

Melodramatic

Philosophical tale

Obra per a titelles i actors

Savant

Alchemist

Old man

Doctor

Franz-Anton Mesmer

Homes I Dones Espectadors de la sessió d'hipnotisme

Coachman

Cavalier

Lady

Innkeeper

Maid

Hangman

Corpse snatcher

Prison guard

Priest

Voisine

Funfair Traveller

Bookseller

Servant

Valet

Carpenter

Soldier

Executioner

Officer

Magic act

Projected shadows

Surprise effect

Hypnosis session

Masked characters

Sword fight

Analepsis (Flash-back)

Prolepsis (Flash-forward)

La mirada de l'alquimista

The alchemist's gaze

Ondina Peteani was born in Trieste on 26 April 1925. As a teenager, she began to associate with the Fontanot family and attended communist meetings. At the age of seventeen, she chose to become an underground activist of the Italian Communist Party (PCI). She soon began to carry out her first resistance actions under the pseudonym "Natalia". During a police operation in a mountain refuge, Ondina managed to save herself with the help of comrade Cvetko. In June 1943, all the members of the resistance group to which Ondina belonged, Ondina herself, her mother and her sister were imprisoned because of a double agent. After the armistice on 8 September, they are all freed by the people. The informer turns out to be Ondina's sister, Santina, because she had a love affair with a young fascist. Santina is executed. Fighting against the Germans begins and the resistance fighters succumb after a fierce struggle. Ondine and comrade Stecchi are sent in pursuit of the traitor Blechi, who has caused the death of many resistance fighters after infiltrating among them. The comic sketch with the glove-puppets begins: Blechi notices the presence of Ondina and Stecchi and disguises himself as a priest so as not to be recognised, thus managing to escape. When he meets Ondina, he disguises himself as an old man, but she recognises him and Blechi is caught and killed. In 1944, Ondina is deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp as a political prisoner. She survives despite the physical and psychological hardships. The horror she experienced in the camp did not erase her conviction that she had to fight for resistance and freedom.

Glove-puppet

Gloved hand

Mannequin

Not specified

Cuscunà Marta

Italy

Monfalcone

Documentary story

Biography

True story

Resistance fighter

Partisan struggle

Resistance

Fascism

Communism

Feminism

Woman

Heroism

Maquis

Auschwitz

Realist

Pathetic

Italian

Progetto di teatro civile per un’attrice, cinque burattini e un pupazzo

Choir

Peasant accent

Comical regional accent

Alternating narrative / dialogue

Transforming scenery

Disguise

Confinement

Pantomime

Disguised character (false identity)

Puppet theatre within the theatre

Narrative Theater

Murder on stage

È bello vivere liberi!

It's good to live free!

Teste calde tells the story of patriot Angelo Pradman, a baker who defends Fort Marghera against the Austrian invasion in 1848. He is engaged to the young Teresa, housekeeper to the Austrian baroness, the wife of the Austrian general Standeiskj. Pradman is also a lover of the Baroness herself, and meets her at her home every Thursday evening. The patriot Moser entrusts him with a very delicate mission: to sneak into General Standeiskj's house and get some rifles. Pradman tells Moser that it will be very easy for him, as he has free access to the Baroness's house. Teresa has heard everything and decides to take revenge: she sends a letter to the baroness in which she tells her that her lover, the baker, is talking to everyone about their love affair. The Baroness, in response, sends the General an anonymous letter informing him that Pradman will attempt to enter his home the following Thursday. The mission turns into a massacre: four of Pradman's comrades are killed in Standeiskj’s garden. Only Pradman manages to save himself, but for this he will be killed by his comrades who take him for a traitor. A few years later, another patriot, this time a true double agent, would have a successful career in the kingdom of Italy.

Animated object

Brunello Gigio

Molnár Gyula (aka Giulio Molnár)

Mogliano Veneto

Unfaithfulness

Treason

Deception

Deceived deceiver

Risorgimento

Kingdom of Italy

Italian unity

Storie del Risorgimento

Pharmacien

Général

Baroness

Patriote

Change of size on sight

Letter

Love story

Deceived naivety

Accumulation of events

Story

Change of social status

Teste calde

Hot heads

The puppeteer is about to tell a true story, the story of Lumi and Ginco, two young migrants from Albania. Their friend Vassillaq was supposed to play the role of the narrator, but as he did not show up, the puppeteer will do it for him. The young girl Lumi lives in Albania with her brother Bato and their grandmother. Their parents have lived in Venice-Mestre, Italy for eight years. One day the two siblings are finally able to join their parents: a wealthy cousin who lives in Canada has asked for Lumi's hand in marriage, and Bregan, Lumi's father, has accepted. Lumi and Bato embark on the perilous sea journey and finally arrive in Venice-Mestre. Another young Albanian, Ginco, has recently arrived at the site where Bregan works. He has no papers, but he is helped by Bregan and Vassillaq, another Albanian migrant with a passion for illegal car racing. As soon as they meet, Ginco and Lumi fall madly in love, but when Bregan finds out, he is furious: he wants to marry Lumi to her rich cousin. The day of the official engagement arrives, but Lumi is disgusted by her fat and pompous cousin. To punish her, her father sends her to live with her aunt, but Lumi continues to see Ginco and becomes pregnant. It is finally thanks to the intervention of the aunt that Bregan is convinced to allow the two young lovers to marry. The wedding finally takes place, but Vassillaq, who was supposed to be the groom's best man, is not there: he died the day before, while participating in one of his illegal races. That's why the puppeteer had to assume the role of narrator...

Object theatre

Migrant

Albania

Veneto

Mestre

Impossible love

Family stories

Real

Boat trip

Magic

Poetry

Corse clandestine in città

Cheval ailé

Fairy

Grand-mère

Thwarted love

Absence of the main character

Lumi dall'alto

Lights from above

Bouffefeu (Eatfire), the director of the theatre, announces that he is going to tell a rewritten version of Pinocchio’s adventures. Just as he is about to start carving a piece of wood, Père (Father) sees it morph into a puppet. He adopts it as his own child and, even though he is poor, gives it all he can. Instead of going to school, Pinocchio, accompanied by Grillon (Cricket), sells everything he owns to enter the funfair. Bouffefeu, the owner of the funfair theatre, takes pity on Pinocchio’s poverty and gives him five coins. They decide to head home and meet Chat (Cat) and Renard (Fox) on the way. Pinocchio shows them his money. Then, Chat and Renard dress up try to steal his money but Pinocchio and Grillon manage to escape and hide from them. On the advice of Fée Bleue (Blue Fairy), the allegory of Pinocchio’s mother, they hit the road. They encounter Chat and Renard again, who make Pinocchio believe that if he if he sows his money, a tree will grow out of it and will produce new coins. Pinocchio is gullible; he believes them and complies.
At another funfair, the Bonimenteur (Barker) changes him into a donkey, but he manages to escape. In the stomach of a sea monster, Pinocchio and Grillon find Père again. The three of them manage to get back onto dry land. Back to the Field of Miracles where Pinocchio buried his money, Pinocchio discovers trees laden with gold coins. He meets the Fée Bleue who lets him decide between becoming a real little boy or remaining a puppet. He chooses to remain a puppet so that he can always be a child in his father’s eyes.