Hanswurst is thrown out like trash from the stage of the Berlin theatre following the success of Voltaire’s tragedy Alzire. He is exiled to Salzbourg, where he lodges at Stoffel Knips’ house and seduces his host’s wife. Stoffel Knips catches them in the act and throws them out. Hanswurst’s distress is such that he tries to kill himself. But thunder strikes the branch on which he was hanging. Two Turks pass by the unconscious couple and take them aboard their felucca going to Turkey. During the trip, Madame Knips gives birth to two children – a boy and a girl – who grow extremely fast. In Turkey, Hanswurst is castrated to be made a eunuch in the Sultan’s seraglio. Madame Knips fell in the sea with her son during the trip, but she manages to swim to shore. She competes with her daughter for the Sultan’s favours; Hanswurst takes offence and makes a scene. He is banished by the Sultan as a result, and returns to Berlin, where he meets a prostitute. He recognizes one of the brothel’s clients as his own son, who also escaped drowning and became a pedant professor of philosophy. During a lecture he gives on the German almanac Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek, published by Friedrich Christoph Nicolai, all the characters on stage die from atrocious diarrhoea.

Not specified

Schink Johann Friedrich

Germany

Berlin

Printed

Turkey

Sultan

Seraglio

Unfaithfulness

Prostitution

Suicide

Education

Literary criticism

Sturm und Drang

Genie

Adventure

Navigation

Human castration

Mutilation

Childbirth

Storm

Tempest

Scatology

Colic

Fart

Fornication

Triviality

Obscenity

Satirical

Anonymous illustration on the title page of Johann Friedrich Schink's collection Marionettentheater

German

Hanswurst

Madame Knips

Turk

Sailor

Daughter

Physician

Slave

Lady

Old woman

Prompter (theatre)

Scene of recognition

Bawdy equivocation

Splitting of the body

Prologue

Address to the public

Love story

Hanging scene

Play in verse

Epilogue

Unexpected turn of events

Brothel scene

Foul language register

Allusion to current literary events

Hanswurst von Salzburg mit dem hölzernen Gat

Hanswurst of Salzbourg with the wooden arse

In this expanded version of the play, Kasperl introduces himself to the Sultan as a botanist and impresses him with his knowledge of radishes (which go well with beer), so much so that he is hired into his service. But he is unhappy with his situation in a Muslim country where the consumption of alcohol is forbidden (except for the Sultan, in secret). He decides to flee with the slave Mimikatzi, who is being held in Schuriburi's seraglio. Kasperl offers to rid the Sultan of the mosquitoes he has to complain about and beats him to death with his stick. Night falls: Kasperl and Mimikatzi flee.

String marionette

Young audiences

Pocci Franz von

Munich

Despotism

Cruelty

Pipe

Black

Woman

Orientalism

Hunger

Wine

Muslim

Beer

Botany

Radish

Mosquitoes

Harem

Music

Comical

Farcical

Parodistic

Konstantinopolitanisches Lustspiel

Jailer

Kasperl

Tambour

Disguise

Word for another

Monologue

Murder on stage

Running away

Criticism of actors' theatre

Blow-with-a-stick

Versified passages

Confinement

Kasperl in der Türkei

Kasperl in Turkey

Casper is accused by a farmer of stealing his hay and the cart and cow that went with it. He tries to bargain over the compensation and settles the matter with a stick. In court, he insults the judge and beats the policeman. The peasant asks for him to be hanged, but Casper finds out and hangs him instead. Then he beats the policeman again. The judge wants him tortured and executed, but Casper beats him to death.

Glove-puppet

Sonneberg

Justice

Theft

Retribution

Punishment

Gallows

Torture

Police

Jail

Judgment

Prosecution

Violence

Assassination

Embezzlement

Silliness

Wickedness

Insubordination

Ironic

Judge

Policeman

Peasant

Flying machine

Parodic trial

Stichomythia

Comic Equivocation

Casper soll ins Gefängnis kommen

Casper must go to jail

Don Juan tries to seduce Donna Anna, but they are spied on by her confessor: An argument ensues, after which Don Juan is carried off to hell by the statue of the Commander. The Devil returns in the guise of Donna Anna to take away the confessor, who has set his sights on the young woman. Then the Devil takes the guise of the confessor to seduce Donna Anna. Virtue, in the guise of a hideous woman, tries to warn her off, but Donna Anna still prefers to give herself to the Devil. The Fool concludes the scene by chasing away Virtue and inviting the audience, for this evening, to enjoy the pleasures of love.