From a bag, the Montreur (Puppet Master) takes the puppets of Punch and Tobby the dog to perform his show. Punch and Tobby meet a deceptive fortune-teller who foresees a tragic future for Punch. Punch and Tobby steal her money, run away, and play a nasty trick on Commissaire (superintendent) Gambrinus. The Adjoint (second in charge) goes after them but ends up being beaten up with a huge stick. Punch meets Judith, and the Montreur pairs them as pimp and prostitute: she seduces the clients and he knocks them out. Later on, Judith gives birth to an adult Anatole, and Punch kills the Professeur (professor) Levieux. The Hydre (Hydra) (“a constant pain in the arse”, at the same time solicitor and social worker) wants to withdraw the custody of Anatole from his father, Punch. They argue and behead the child. Punch kills the Hydre and then strangles Judith. The Commissaire and the Adjoint catch Punch. The trial requires a psychiatrist, but Punch hits the Psycha-cho-chiatre (play on the French word for psychiatrist) and runs off again. He sleeps with Commissaire Gabrinus’ wife, but the Commissaire catches them in the act. Punch is sentenced to death, but he manages to have the Bourreau (executioner) beheaded instead. The Diable (Devil) appears as Tobby and fights Punch but Punch kills him, escaping the fortune-teller’s prediction.

Glove-puppet

Adults

France

Paris

Choisy-le-Roi

Printed

Cruelty

Serial murder

Prostitution

Couple

Abortion

Education

Justice

Revenge

Unfaithfulness

Stick

Comical

Satirical

Polemical

Gore

La Ballade de Mister Punch, poster, 1976.

French

Punch

Judy

Puppeteer

Child

Police Superintendant

Policeman

Physician

Guardian

Social worker

Judge

Voice

Hand

Psychiatrist

Lawyer

Executioner

Devil

Mise-en-abyme

Slaps

Address to the public

Dialog between a puppet and its puppeteer

Blow-with-a-stick

Song

Chase

Domestic scene

Allusion to current political events

Childbirth on stage

Murder on stage

Apparition of the puppeteer

Character thrown out of the scene

Hanging scene

Final intervention of the devil

La Ballade de Mister Punch

Mister Punch’s ballad

Mademoiselle (Miss) Félicité, a foreign doctoral student, pays a visit to Morched – a master puppeteer – to buy his puppets. Her request is categorically denied because, in Morched’s eyes, puppetry is ancestral work. However, after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the authorities censored traditional Iranian culture and Morched is forbidden from practicing his trade. In spite of this prohibition, he decides to use his puppets one last time to tell the love story between Pahlévâne and Sarvé-Nâz Khânome, which will soon be made impossible because of the Mullahs, who support their friend Mobârak (“a mischievous servant”). Unable to destroy his puppets, Morched – just before he dies – decides to entrust them to Mademoiselle Félicité, who will be able to keep the memory of his work alive.

Actor and puppet

Not specified

Puppets

Student

Love

Power

Transmission

Religion

Current events

Daily life

Bans

Political context

Death

Epic

Dramatic

Frédéric de Manassein, cover art for Mémoires d'une marionnette.

Journal d'une marionnette

Wife

Servant

Mobârak

Young man

Monster

Horse

King

Prince

Priest

Young woman

Herald

Guard

Deux Balayeurs, Torch-Ali Bak et Chirin-ali Bak (jumeaux)

Twins

Eunuch

Vehicle

Ambassador

Quelques Dignitaires civils et militaires

Dancer

Comedy of language

Comic speech

Multi-voice shouting

Versified passages

Monologue

Hands visible

Apparition of a monster

Death on stage

Mémoires d'une marionnette

Memoirs of a puppet

Bouffefeu (Eatfire), the director of the theatre, announces that he is going to tell a rewritten version of Pinocchio’s adventures. Just as he is about to start carving a piece of wood, Père (Father) sees it morph into a puppet. He adopts it as his own child and, even though he is poor, gives it all he can. Instead of going to school, Pinocchio, accompanied by Grillon (Cricket), sells everything he owns to enter the funfair. Bouffefeu, the owner of the funfair theatre, takes pity on Pinocchio’s poverty and gives him five coins. They decide to head home and meet Chat (Cat) and Renard (Fox) on the way. Pinocchio shows them his money. Then, Chat and Renard dress up try to steal his money but Pinocchio and Grillon manage to escape and hide from them. On the advice of Fée Bleue (Blue Fairy), the allegory of Pinocchio’s mother, they hit the road. They encounter Chat and Renard again, who make Pinocchio believe that if he if he sows his money, a tree will grow out of it and will produce new coins. Pinocchio is gullible; he believes them and complies.
At another funfair, the Bonimenteur (Barker) changes him into a donkey, but he manages to escape. In the stomach of a sea monster, Pinocchio and Grillon find Père again. The three of them manage to get back onto dry land. Back to the Field of Miracles where Pinocchio buried his money, Pinocchio discovers trees laden with gold coins. He meets the Fée Bleue who lets him decide between becoming a real little boy or remaining a puppet. He chooses to remain a puppet so that he can always be a child in his father’s eyes.