Fleeing his wife, Polichinelle steals a charlatan's cabriolet with Pierrot. First he wins the trust of the population with free advice, then he launches a subscription for a phantom financial company. When the shareholders demand their money, he sends them away with good words and blows, until the Public itself comes to threaten him directly. Mrs. Polichinelle offers to take care of the punishment. Terrified, Polichinelle flees into the forest. Abandoned by Pierrot, he walks to Hell. There, he tries to swindle Death and stands up to the Devil who, in desperation, goes looking for Mrs. Polichinelle. She brings her husband home firmly, with the approval of the audience.

Glove-puppet

All audiences

France

Paris

Duranty Louis Émile Edmond

Printed

Swindling

Finance

Hell

Marriage hell

Punishment

Forest

Public

Perseverance in Evil

Money

Satire of Capitalism

Bossy woman

Escape

Comical

Satirical

Farcical

Ironic

French

Le Charlatan

Charlatan

Polichinelle

Pierrot

Tenant

Lady

Peasant

Cassandre

Shopkeeper

Colombine

Valet

Death

Devil

Intervention of the audience

Devil's apparition

Plot twist

Blow-with-a-stick

L'Homme au cabriolet

the man with a cabriolet

Polichinelle and Pierrot rob a vegetable garden every night. The gardener sets up scarecrows. At first, the thieves tremble with fear and give up their loot before they discover the trickery. Then they put on the scarecrows' clothes to scare and hit the Gardener. The Gardener runs away, but he has recognised Pierrot and Polichinelle. He returns disguised as a ghost, but Pierrot and Polichinelle are not fooled and hit him again. When the Gardener wants to prevent Polichinelle from escaping, Polichinelle plants him in a pot with Pierrot's help. The wife frees her husband. They both fill a melon with powder and a wick. Pierrot and Polichinelle, mistaking the wick for a cigar, light it. The explosion sends Polichinelle and Pierrot flying out of the garden, but causes the house to collapse on the Gardener and his wife.

Garden

Theft

Vegetables

Scarecrow

Phantom

Fear

Hoax

Rake

Pumpkin

Powder

Firecracker

Blast

Melon

Trap

Gardener

Gardener (woman)

Hidden character

Misunderstanding

Disguise

Pyrotechnics

Explosion

Collapse of the set

Le Revenant

The Ghost

Polichinelle stole a wizard's picnic and beat him up. The wizard made a giant hand appear. Chased by the hand, Polichinelle runned into an old woman's house. To get him out, the Hand trapped him with a smelly pâté. Feigning repentance, Polichinelle asked the wizard to free him from the Hand, then killed him and tried to control the Hand. But it threatened him with a pitchfork and carried him away like the Devil would do.

Bare hand

Hand

Hunger

Thirst

Wine

Pâté

Sorcery

Fork

Cunning

Glutton

False repentance

Fantastic

Magician

Old woman

Part of human body

Song

Aside

Chase

Address to the public

Slaps

Punching

Off-stage voices

Final intervention of the devil

La Grand'Main

The Big Hand

Martin is secretly in love with the beautiful Eleonora Lambriani, a mysterious dancer with a legendary reputation. However, he has already sworn his love to Sophie. When Martin prepares to leave in order to offer his life and his money to Eleonora, his cousin Cassian arrives at his house. Initially inconsolable because of the departure of her lover, Sophie changes from the virtuous girl to the woman expressing her desire for Cassian, then she elopes with him by jumping out of the window. Martin dies by the hand of Cassian, poor as a church mouse, as he has lost all his money in a dice game against Cassian.

L'Homme au cabriolet

Le Revenant

La Grand'Main

Der tapfere Cassian

Puppenspiel in einem Akt