As a conversation goes on between Cassandre and Pierrot (his servant), we find out that Arlequin wishes to marry Isabelle, Cassandre’s daughter. However, Cassandre wants her to marry someone else. Pierrot takes advantage of the conversation to talk about the rumours going around in town regarding a witch. Cassandre, sceptical, does not believe them. Later, Arlequin relates having met an elderly lady who turned out to be a witch. Shortly afterwards, the lady appears and promises Arlequin a magic power if he becomes her spouse. He refuses and runs away with Isabelle. Suddenly, l’Amour (Love), the Bon Génie (Good Genius), appears in front of Arlequin and Isabelle. He recommends that Arlequin searches for a hazel branch that will be their talisman. However, their plan is soon exposed: the whole Caverne du Sabbat (Sabbath Cave) quickly discovers Arlequin’s intentions. At the same time, Cassandre and Pierrot start looking for Isabelle and Arlequin. In the end, Arlequin manages to get the magical talisman and finds Isabelle. Pierrot and Cassandre, still looking for Isabelle, fall into the earth where an enchanted broom relentlessly chases them, but they escape it.
 Arlequin and Isabelle are still running away while Cassandre and Pierrot keep trying to catch them. However, it is almost midnight: the witch’s powers over Arlequin will soon disappear. At the last moment, the witch manages to capture the lovers, but the Génie appears and reminds her that the evil hour has come. Powerless, she disappears. The Génie promises to take Arlequin and Isabelle to a city full of happiness, and to bring Cassandre and Pierrot as well.

String marionette

Young audiences

France

Paris

Manuscript

Servant

Father-daughter relationship

Wedding

Love

Sorcery

Talisman

Sword

Magic

Chasing

Happiness

Comical

Fantasy

Le Balai de la Sorcière, first page of the manuscript.

French

Cassandra

Arlecchino

Pierrot

Daughter

Genie

Witch

Aside

Music

Magical disappearance

Prologue

Apparition of a genie

Initiatory quest

Apparition

Blow

Apparition of demons

Chase

Visual pun

Demons dance

Object magically appearing

Le Balai de la Sorcière

The Witch's Broom

The widow Schulzen is as happy about her daughter Rosa as she is worried about her son Peter. This wild child with tousled hair and long nails stopped going to school, has no respect for anything or anyone, and his persistent acts of mischief targeting the villagers could send him to prison. Rosa leaves the house and sets out to find the wizard Albaras, who appeared to her in a dream and promised to improve her brother’s behaviour. Her quest takes her to the court of King Arthur, whose son Tugendreich is old enough to marry and take charge of the kingdom, but wallows in the increasingly insolent jesting of his servant Kasper. His jokes go far enough that he is soon driven out of the kingdom as a bad subject. He wanders in the mountains where Albaras’s castle stands and, reformed, decides to become his servant. In the meantime, Peter became a drifter: he too crosses paths with Albaras’ servant, but he makes fun of his face because it is black, and spirits start possessing him. Rosa comes in, after a long journey from the king’s court. Albaras urges Peter to turn his life around, but he refuses stubbornly. As a punishment, the spirits dip Peter into a large inkwell, until he is completely black. As for Rosa, she came back to her mother’s house. Kasperl joins them with Peter, who is now clean and obedient. Prince Tugendreich then comes in and proposes to Rosa, who he saw at his father’s court. Albaras appears and ends the play.

Apel Heinrich

Germany

Saxony

Disobedience

Childhood

Education

Wickedness

Disrespect

Respect

Vagrant

Good-for-nothing

Learning

Journey

Inkwell

Didactic

German

Der Strubbelpeter

Die Reise ins Zauberland

Queen

Prince

Kasperl

Marshal

Magician

Famulus

Widow

Schoolteacher

Peasant

Laundress

Dream

Address to the public

Der Strubbelpeter im Tintenfass

Shock-headed Peter in the inkwell

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.