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

Germany

Munich

Printed

Turkey

Despotism

Cruelty

Pipe

Black

Woman

Orientalism

Hunger

Wine

Muslim

Beer

Botany

Radish

Mosquitoes

Seraglio

Harem

Music

Comical

Farce

Parodistic

German

Konstantinopolitanisches Lustspiel

Sultan

Geôlier

Esclave

Kasperl

Tambour

Turc

Disguise

Word for another

Monologue

Murder on stage

Allusion to current literary events

Running away

Criticism of actors' theatre

Address to the public

Blow-with-a-stick

Epilogue

Versified passages

Confinement

Kasperl in der Türkei

Kasperl in Turkey

In a prison, two exceptional prisoners, Jesus and Pinocchio, talk to each other from the communicating wall of their prison cells, without seeing each other. They talk about the gymnastics they do to distract themselves, about homecountry and homesickness, about their fiancées, everything they miss outside of these four walls. Pinocchio does not believe in the miracles Jesus tells him, but when questioned, he claims to believe in them and his nose gets longer. In their dialogue, they discover they have a lot in common: their condition as persecuted by justice or the fact that they can both walk on water. In the end, the guards come for Jesus; while he is happy and thinks that the men have realised that they have made a mistake in imprisoning him, Pinocchio has a bad feeling and, in vain, shouts at him from his cell not to follow them.

Glove-puppet

Adults

Brunello Gigio

Italy

Mogliano Veneto

Justice

Imprisonment

Miracle

Innocence

Nose lengthening

Tragic

Italian

Pinocchio

Heureux ceux qui sont persécutés pour la justice, car le royaume des cieux est à eux.

Jesus

Dialogue between characters who do not see each other

Conversation

Beati i perseguitati a causa della giustizia perché di essi è il regno dei cieli

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Ondina Peteani was born in Trieste on 26 April 1925. As a teenager, she began to associate with the Fontanot family and attended communist meetings. At the age of seventeen, she chose to become an underground activist of the Italian Communist Party (PCI). She soon began to carry out her first resistance actions under the pseudonym "Natalia". During a police operation in a mountain refuge, Ondina managed to save herself with the help of comrade Cvetko. In June 1943, all the members of the resistance group to which Ondina belonged, Ondina herself, her mother and her sister were imprisoned because of a double agent. After the armistice on 8 September, they are all freed by the people. The informer turns out to be Ondina's sister, Santina, because she had a love affair with a young fascist. Santina is executed. Fighting against the Germans begins and the resistance fighters succumb after a fierce struggle. Ondine and comrade Stecchi are sent in pursuit of the traitor Blechi, who has caused the death of many resistance fighters after infiltrating among them. The comic sketch with the glove-puppets begins: Blechi notices the presence of Ondina and Stecchi and disguises himself as a priest so as not to be recognised, thus managing to escape. When he meets Ondina, he disguises himself as an old man, but she recognises him and Blechi is caught and killed. In 1944, Ondina is deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp as a political prisoner. She survives despite the physical and psychological hardships. The horror she experienced in the camp did not erase her conviction that she had to fight for resistance and freedom.

Kasperl in der Türkei

Konstantinopolitanisches Lustspiel

Beati i perseguitati a causa della giustizia perché di essi è il regno dei cieli

Heureux ceux qui sont persécutés pour la justice, car le royaume des cieux est à eux.

È bello vivere liberi!

Progetto di teatro civile per un’attrice, cinque burattini e un pupazzo