Bored, Polichinelle wants to have fun. Pierrot suggests for him to open a theatre, but Polichinelle is penniless. Against the promise of a nice meal, Pierrot takes care of finding the needed money. He makes the Commissaire (Superintendent) and the Gendarme (Constable) believe that Cassandre’s bag of écus is the one that was stolen from him. His trick works, and Pierrot brings the money to Polichinelle who thanks him by beating him with his stick. In his troupe, Polichinelle hires everyone he encounters: they all have a specific talent. This is how Polichinelle’s theatre unveils before our eyes. Being a good director, he calls for the kindness of the audience.

Glove-puppet

All audiences

Desnoyers Fernand

France

Paris

Printed

Theatre

Boredom

Actor

Money

Comical

Satirical

Alphonse Legros, engraving for Fernand Desnoyers' Le Théâtre de Polichinelle, 1861

French

Prologue en vers pour l'ouverture du Théâtre de marionnettes dans le jardin des Tuileries

Polichinelle

Pierrot

Cassandre

Police Superintendant

Constable

Mother Gigogne

Pastry chef

Apothecary

Magician

Death

Arlecchino

Colombine

Devil

Fairy

Blow-with-a-stick

Address to the public

Captatio benevolentiae

Le Théâtre de Polichinelle

Polichinelle's Theatre

The puppeteer apologises to the audience because he is not ready to perform Macbeth: instead, he will perform an unpublished comedy by Goldoni, The Jealous Emigrant (which is, in fact, a fake written on purpose by Brunello). But one of his glove puppets, Arlequin, disagrees and organises a rebellion, convincing the other puppets to perform Macbeth. The tragedy begins, but Arlequin, who has dared to step out of his role, must die like Macbeth. The same applies to his antagonist King Duncan, who - as we discover at the end - is no other than the puppeteer himself.

Bare hand

Adults

Brunello Gigio

Molnár Gyula (aka Giulio Molnár)

Italy

Mogliano Veneto

Rebellion

Self-consciousness of puppets

Rewriting

Adaptation

Fake unpublished

Shakespeare

Tragic

Ironic

Italian

Rodolfo

Colombina

Brighella

Lady Macbeth

Macbeth

Pantaloon

Macduff

Balanzone

Generico

Witch

Messenger

Guardian

Sicaire

Monkey

Comical regional accent

Theatre within the theatre

Double characters

Rehearsal (play within a play)

Apparition of the puppeteer

Surprise effect

Tragic irony

Tragic conflict

Parody of formal language

Avista

Macbeth all'improvviso

Improvised Macbeth

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.