As he is hunting with his men, a king meets tumblers travelling from Bohemia in a caravan. He invites them to perform at his palace in the evening. Captivated by the dance of one of the young Bohemian women, the king falls in love. He accommodates the troupe for ten days and asks the woman to meet with him every night. One morning, eager to be free and on the road again, the young woman leaves. Desperate and jealous as lovers consult the oracle of the flowers just under his window, the king feels a surge of anger and officially rules that love is forbidden in the kingdom. Soldiers spy on the lovers, who still meet in secret. Plants wither. Outraged, the people are about to attack the palace; at this moment, however, the young Bohemian comes back: her return and her dance prevent the massacre. Cheered on, she marries the king and gives the lovers the right to love themselves freely again. The four-leaf clovers, which are reminders of unhappy times, are pulled up. The tumblers’ caravan leaves for Bohemia, leaving the young dancer with royal ceremonies that already smother her…

Shadow theatre

Not specified

Belgium

Brussels

Printed

Love

Freedom

Flowers

Lyrical

Front cover of the book published in 1898

French

King

Dancer

Young woman

Tumbler

Lady in waiting

Page

Soldier

Horserider

People

Young girl

Old woman

Poet

Singer

Dance

Character leaning against the window

Hunting scene

Silent scene

Spectacular turn of events

Procession

Voice

Le Trèfle à quatre feuilles

The Four-leaf clover

A man named Précair has just lost his job. Sitting on a public bench, he suddenly sees a huge branch fall from a tree. Another day, in the same place, Précair's left arm falls off, then his right. To help him, a kind man takes him to an arm merchant. But as Précair has little money, he leaves the shop with two pieces of wood instead of arms. His wife Zalou leaves him. Précair, now made entirely of wood, runs after work, which constantly eludes him. Hired as a flower pot during a social cocktail party, Précair is treated like an insignificant object, then thrown out onto the street. He loses his head (which is picked up by a dog), then his speech. Précair, now with a dog's head, behaves like one and is taken in by homeless people who are victims of a slum landlord. A dog with a human head (Précair's) arrives and sniffs Précair lying on the ground. Précair stands up, regaining his human appearance. He follows the dog up a long staircase that leads him to the middle of the sky.

Young audiences

Cagnard Jean

France

Meung-sur-Loire

Precariousness

Unemployment

Dehumanisation

Tree

Dismembering

Homeless

Slumlord

Hunger

Absurd

Fantastic

Comical

Ironic

Chômeur

Wife

Policeman

Landlord

Parable

Set that comes to life

Character ejected through the door

Fall of a set element

Comical fall of a character

Fall of a body part

Throwing rubbish at a character

Scream

Rainfall on stage

A human-faced animal

Inserting poetry

Chorality

Ascension

Character represented in animal form

L’Entonnoir

Funnel

A suitcase is moving on the baggage carousel of an airport, of a supermarket or of an industrial area. It is followed by several objects and goods. As the carousel speeds up, the actors handle the goods frenetically. Their struggle to follow the speed of the machine is reflected in their movements. 
The carousel slows down and the actors use their bare hands to mime imaginary objects - glasses being toasted, or a calabash being carried. Then they exchange various objects: a shotgun, a hammer, a book, an axe, … The carousel stops and the actors bring other objects on stage, which they manipulate or simply put on the floor: a small toy car, trophies, a mannequin’s arm, a fire extinguisher, a heater, a loudspeaker, an umbrella, … At the end of the show, boards with outlines representing members of the audience slowly come nearer to the proscenium until the final curtain comes down.