Prince Abdal and his servant Kasper are lost in an enchanted forest. Kasper eats all the supplies while his master cannot satisfy his hunger. For three years, the prince has been searching for a woman who appeared to him in a dream. Then the king of the dwarfs and his subjects appear to the two men. The woman they are looking for is Princess Olanda, who is held captive in the forest by the magician Brandarbaran. They decide that Kasper will kill the magician, while Prince Abdal saves the princess. They are both given magical objects, and the dwarfs offer to help them. Kasper goes back to court using an invisibility cloak, and delivers fake news – that his master has died – then disappears. Olanda has been held captive for three years in Brandarbaran’s dungeon. Although she was treated like a princess in all respects by her maid Margaretha, she was raised by poor people. Brandarbaran tries to seduce her, but she resists him. Since this will cause him to look powerless, he decides to kill her. Prince Abdal and Kasper are at the foot of the dungeon, and about to fulfill their mission. Pimperle and Pitschkerle, two dwarfs, come to their aid and put the dragon to sleep. But Kasper does not succeed in killing the magician: in fact, the dwarfs did not wish him to, because Brandarbaran is actually Olanda’s father! Brandarbaran gives Kasper and Olanda their blessing. The maid Margaretha recognises Kasper: he is her husband, who ran away years before. They reconcile after quarrelling several times.

String marionette

Not specified

Germany

Saxony

Manuscript

Magic

Dwarf

Jail

Hunger

Love

Enchanted forest

Magic object

Dragon

Father-daughter incest

Dramatic

Comical

Fantasy

First page of Die Zwerge, c.1750.

German

King

Queen

Prince

Commanding officer

Master of ceremonies

Servant

Magician

Maid

King of the dwarfs

Dwarf (female)

Apparition

Stream of consciousness

Final wedding

Metamorphosis

Flying machine

Scene of recognition

Stormy scene

Fake news

Die Zwerge

The dwarfs

In an American high school, a group of girls decide to make a secret pact. They choose to get pregnant together, then flee their town and found a female community. When the headmaster realises what is happening, he tries to cover it up, fearing confrontation with parents and the media, but inevitably everything comes to light. The girls inform their boyfriends of their pregnancies by text message, and then they organise their escape. The parents' cries will not deter them from their intentions. On the contrary, these same cries will turn into reflections on their own faults and on the causes of this shocking pact.

Animatronic

Cuscunà Marta

Italy

Monfalcone

Trento

Printed

Feminism

Woman

Teenagers

Community

High school

Domestic violence

Gender-based violence

Minor news

Pregnancy

Secret

United States of America

Documentary

Young girl

Digital

Promise

Realist

Polemical

Pathetic

Italian

Discussions about a secret pact for 12 severed heads

Nurse

School director

Father

Mother

Absence of the main character

Apparition of the puppeteer

Comedy of language

Argument

Epilogue

Offstage

Instant messaging

Smartphone applications

Monologue

Sorry, boys