Teodosio (Theodosius, Emperor of Constantinople) welcomes Marciano’s army. Marciano is returning victorious from the Persian Empire, and he is bringing back Ariene, the fiancée of Varane (king of Persia). Teodosio asks that Ariene be released, and he offers her peace; but the Queen is too proud. Atenaide, a young Greek woman devoted to philosophy, hesitates between coming back to Athens and staying with the Emperor: although she loves him, she fears that their respective statuses are too different. Varane arrives at court in disguise. He befriends Atenaide and expresses jealousy at Teodosio being generous with his wife. Pulcheria welcomes Marciano, whom she loves. Teodosio is jealous of Atenaide and Varane. When Teodosio accepts Ariene’s gift—she gave him fruit to thank him for his generosity—Varane, who is watching them, believes that they are having an affair. Atenaide believes so too. To reassure Atenaide, Teodosio gives her the fruit, which she gives Varane in turn, since the stranger insisted on it. Atenaide’s companion, Acrisia, reveals to Eridione, Ariene’s servant, a miraculous fountain that changes into a dragon. She gives him a dance lesson, which introduces the interlude. Marciano is watching out for Varane on the shore. He witnesses Varane and Ariene reuniting. Since Marciano wishes to catch his enemy, whom he has recognised, the Queen steps in to protect her husband. But Varane orders her to leave. After refusing Marciano’s peace proposal, Varane is defeated. Teodosio offers peace again; Varane rejects it another time. As the Emperor is reading Costantino’s story in the library, Ariene arrives. Atenaide watches them with jealousy. Ariene and Teodosio believe that their lovers have betrayed them. Finally convinced that Teodosio loves her, Atenaide is also suspected of unfaithfulness, since she cannot give back the fruit which her husband gifted her. Atenaide manages to convince Ariene of Varane’s faithfulness; and Acrisia promises to fix the situation. She makes four pages appear in the library, then she gives Eridione an astrology lesson; Eridione is taken into the air on a cloud. The tables of the library change into nymphs; they begin to dance. Pulcheria reproaches her brother for his unchristian jealousy, and commands him to stop seeing Atenaide. Ariene and Varane reconcile and knock down Teodosio’s statue. The Emperor dismisses Atenaide. He hesitates over putting his enemy to death, but eventually decides to be consistent: he spares Varane’s life and offers him a throne. Faced with such generosity, Varane is vanquished. Teodosio’ wedding is being prepared. Teodosio despairs at the thought of never seeing Atenaide again. Pulcheria summons the new bride, who turns out to be Atenaide calling herself Eudocia. The Emperor and the young Greek woman celebrate their wedding at the same time as Pulcheria and Marciano.

Not specified

Ottoboni Pietro

Italy

Rome

Printed

Constantinople

Jealousy

Captives

Constancy

Regency

Edifying

Laudatory

Religious

Pietro Ottoboni, Teodisio il Giovane, 1711 (central engraving)

Italian

Theodosius

Emperor

Pulcheria

Sister

General

Virgin

Lady-in-waiting

King

Wife

Servant

Interlude

Music

Procession

Love rivalry

Disguised character (false identity)

Magic spell

Metamorphosis

Flying character

Plot scene

Duel scene

Monologue

Change of social status

Final wedding

Teodosio il Giovane

Theodosius the Young

Punch informs Master (the stage director) that part of his company is rebelling against him even though he got rid of all competition and has been in the spotlight for the past 20 years. A lieutenant colonel meets with him; his colonel now dead, he wants to be appointed head of his regiment. Punch refuses and contemptuously reminds him that he has no seat in Parliament. He then offers the regiment to a duke who had wanted to be part of the military. He then grants a series of privileges to his peers.
Puppet Lawn, who tried to influence the inhabitants of his village to vote for Punch, ends up being scammed by the latter through a fake investment. The reservists under Punch’s supervision are on the verge of insurrection. Puppet Y- advises him to go on site. On the contrary, Punch prepares to leave the government and makes sure he can store his belongings somewhere safe.
Captain Caledon, Mr English and Mr Worcester are plotting to pressure Punch into resigning. Nonetheless, they suspect him to be preparing a comeback in politics. Punch resigns. An epilogue underlines the reality of the events that have been staged, and pre-empts criticism: the play does not follow the rules of puppet theatre because Punch is not punished by the devil but the author points out that he probably will be.

Rod and string marionette

Great Britain

London

Conspiracy

Politics

Manipulation

Satirical

Politicks in Miniature, 1742. (Title page).

English

The State Puppet-Show: called the Humours of Punch's Resignation.

Or, the Humours of Punch's Resignation

Public announcement

Allusion to current political events

Comical foreign accent

Epilogue

Politicks in Miniature

Guignol tells the Directeur (Director) that he thinks highly of theatre. He asks to be introduced to the audience, and jokes with him about being made of wood. Ubu kills the king Venceslas. The Queen dies, and the Ombre (Shadow) of one of her ancestors gives the young prince Bougrelas a sword, so that he can avenge his father. Ubu robs and slaughters Nobles, dismisses the judges and makes them all fall through the trapdoor. Ubu goes fight the Russian army, and Mère Ubu (Mother Ubu) and her accomplice Giron try to steal his treasures while he is away. On the battlefield, Ubu is chased out by the Russian army led by the Tzar. An Ours (bear) attacks general Lascy and prevails. In the meantime, Ubu has taken shelter in a tree. Mère Ubu meets her husband and they both prepare to leave for France. But Bougrelas appears and has them arrested by the Gendarmes (Police), and asks for them to locked up in France and for Père Ubu (Father Ubu)’s brain to be removed.

Glove-puppet

Jarry Alfred

France

Paris

Regicide

Tyranny

Theft

Voracity

Treasure

Slaughter

Army

Revenge

Police (French gendarmerie)

Comical

Grotesque

Farcical

Ubu's puppet in Ubu sur la butte, 1901.

French

Father Ubu

Mother Ubu

Captain

Queen

Ghost

Noble

Clerk

Magistrato

Counselor

Financier

Soldier

Russian

Pole

Bear

Horse

Constable

Prologue

Blow-with-a-stick

Song

Dance

Murder on stage

Apparition of a ghost

Parade

Battlefield scene

Chase

Fight with an animal

Final song

Ubu sur la butte

Ubu on the hilllock

Thieves threaten a young man, Pine, on a beach. James Flaunty comes to his aid. Sent by Captain Gig, Lieutenant Florry proposes to Flaunty to navigate, for a hefty sum of money, their vessel towards the Spiting Devil ship since he has good knowledge of the area. Nance, the daughter of the captain, warns of the danger of this mission, but Flaunty insists that the money will allow him to marry her. A pirate from the Spitting Devil comes across Flaunty and asks him to give him Captain Gig's men in exchange for an even greater sum of money. After a moment of hesitation, Flaunty accepts. Pine, who overheard the conversation, pleads with Flaunty to bring him back after the battle since he has been trying to return to Ireland for several years. The standoff doesn't go as expected, and Flaunty is accused of plotting against Captain Gig. He is sentenced to death and asks to be executed on the banks of a creek at sunset. Pine pretends to be responsible for the alliance with the pirates and sacrifices his life for Flaunty, who is liberated.

Toy theatre

Young audiences

Ireland

Strete

Piracy

Capital executions and executors

Sacrifice

Humorous

Dramatic

Jack B. Yeats, James Flaunty or the Terror of the Western Seas, 1901

Pirate

Daughter

Execution scene

Release of a prisoner

James Flaunty, or the Terror of the Western Seas

James Flaunty, ou la Terreur des mers de l'ouest

King Clodoveo returns from war, but he is lost in a maze of branches and roots that have grown around his city. His daughter Verbena also gets lost in this forest. Meanwhile, her step-mother Ferdibunda organises a conspiracy against her husband Clodoveo along with the minister Curvaldo. While searching for the king and Verbena to kill them, the two traitors also get lost in the forest. Above the trees hovers a mysterious bird that all the characters meet. With the help of Mirtillo, a forest dweller, Verbena manages to save the king and reveal Ferdibunda's deception. The balance between the natural and urban worlds is thus renewed when Mirtillo and Verbena can celebrate their love by getting married. The bird will be reborn like a phoenix and everyone can return to the city in harmony.

String marionette

Calvino Italo

Ecology

Environment

Love

Phoenix

Symbolism

Power

Maze

Nature

Fantastic

Voice

Bird

Gravedigger

Witch

Political allegory

Allegory

Animated natural element

Sabbath

La foresta-radice-labirinto

The narrator establishes an ideal link with the figure of Don Quixote: like Cervantes' hero, he is a middle-aged man who has lost his mind in books, and who now identifies himself with the stories of the Paladins of France. So he begins to tell his ideal lady, Dulcinea del Toboso, the story of Roland. Peace reigns in Charlemagne's kingdom, until the beautiful princess Angelica arrives at his court: the paladin who manages to defeat her brother Argalia in a duel will get her in hand in marriage. During the duel, the paladin Ferraù hits him in the back, violating the rules, and flees. Angelica got lost in the Ardennes forest while trying to return to her homeland, and all the paladins, who are madly in love with her, go looking for her. The kingdom was thus deprived of its heroes, and Marsilio, King of Spain, took advantage of this to invade France. While inside the court, Gano di Magonza hatches a plot against Charlemagne, Ferraù tries to unmask him and save the kingdom. The Paladins, united under Roland’s leadership, decide to confront Marsilio's entire Spanish army on their own, without calling on the French troops, and thus they all perish.

Niccolini Francesco

Portugal

Porto

Song of Roland

Knighthood

Unrequited love

Murder

Battle

Duel

Princess

Spell

Epic

Avventure d'Orlando e d'altri paladini

Il narratore, una specie di Don Chisciotte

Narrator

Dulcinea del Toboso

Charlemagne (King)

Angelique

Messenger

Orlando

Renaud de Montauban

Bishop

Ganelon

Guard

Accumulation of events

Alternating narrative / dialogue

Fight

Unveiling

Double identity

Running away

Love story

Splitting of the body

Personified object

Trap

Narrative Theater

Storyteller

Roncisvalle!

Roncevaux !

Caliban, the slave of Prospero the magician, expresses his loneliness and the difficulty he has interacting with others. He retells his personal story, characterized by his submission to the magician since he arrived on Caliban's island, and by his desire for Prospero's daughter Miranda. Antonio, Prospero's brother and the one responsible for his deposition, is washed up on the shores with the King of Naples and his crew. Caliban meets Trinculo and Stephano, two drunkards who come up with a plan to kill Prospero and steal his books. However, when it is time to take action, Caliban thinks of his mother, and supernatural spirits take possession of him. He then goes back on his decision. Meanwhile, Prospero uses a ploy to get back his title as Duke of Milan. He suggests to the King of Naples that their two children, Miranda and Ferdinand, marry. The King accepts, and they decide to go back to Italy. They make fun of Caliban and insult him before abandoning him on his island.

Object theatre

Brighton

Loneliness

Knowledge

Shipwreck

Magic

Slavery

Shakespeare

Tim Couch, La Tempête de Caliban, directed by the Compagnie Pupella-Noguès, 2023.