Toulouse-Lautrec retraces his life marked by the illness that prevented him from enjoying the pleasures of the nobility to which he belonged, in the Albi family home: outdoor games, hunting, parties, etc. The only pastime that made him forget his illness was painting; because of this he decided to leave for Paris to perfect his art. There, he took refuge in the shadows of the artistic and literary bohemian nights, alcohol, brothels, cabarets, café-concerts, circuses and marginal districts to hide his disability.

Shadow theatre

Rod puppet

Adults

Mas i Usó Pasqual

Spain

Villarreal

Printed

Biography

Thoughts on art

Introspective analysis

Painter

Painting

Remembrance

Bohemianism

Infirmity

Illness

Darkness

Night

Disability

Memory

Marginality

Cabaret

Paris

Dramatic

Catalan

Toulouse-Lautrec

Monologue

Projected shadows

Metatheatre

Cabaret act

Off-stage voice

Estratègia per a una ciutat d'ombres

Stratégie pour une ville d'ombres

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.

Automaton

Sirera Rodolf

Valencia

Rationalism

Science

Religion

Superstition

Adventure

Alchemy

Symbolism

Hypnotism

Spiritisme

Death

Double

Divination

Supernatural

Love

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

Horserider

Lady

Innkeeper

Maid

Hangman

Corpse snatcher

Prison guard

Priest

Neighbour (female)

Funfair Traveller

Bookseller

Servant

Valet

Carpenter

Soldier

Executioner

Officer

Narrator

Magic act

Throws

Surprise effect

Hypnosis session

Masked characters

Sword fight

Analepsis (Flash-back)

Prolepsis (Flash-forward)

Imbroglio

La mirada de l'alquimista

The alchemist's gaze