After a prologue in which a marionette summarizes the plot, the scene opens in Juno’s bedroom at 3 a.m. Jove and Mercury, drunk and dressed as burglars, break the window to get in. Jove drives Mercury away and tries to sleep but he wakes up Juno, who picks a quarrel with him. She is furious and she decides to go to Hell and fetch two snakes which will kill Hercules and his mother in retaliation for Jove’s unfaithfulness. At the gates of Hell, Juno orders snakes and meets Blind Boy and Columbus the Parrot, who are carrying a bag. They are introduced to Pluto and his favorite snake, Slimy-Go-Gurgle-and-Twirl. They are sentenced to boil in the cauldron of Hell, but Columbus states that he has a present for Pluto in his bag. Pluto asks to see it. The present is an egg containing six other eggs, which are all of different colours and are placed one inside the other. Out of the smallest one hatches the “Worm of Worms,” Cockatrice, who kills all the snakes in Hell and terrifies everybody. Pluto gives his ring to Blind Boy and asks him to take Cockatrice away, but Blind Boy informs him that he is his mother and offers to explain how it happened. They all sit in front of a small theatre, where the story of Cockatrice’s birth is narrated. In the cockney neighborhood of London, Jove, dressed up as a cock, steps into Blind Woman and Blind Boy’s shop in order to buy pigeon milk. He hands over an egg to Blind Boy, since he is blind and therefore cannot see Cockatrice, who is about to hatch, for a single glance at Cockatrice would prove fatal - it would even kill him to see himself in a mirror. Jove asks Blind Boy to be Cockatrice’s mother and to never reveal to him who his father is. After hatching, Cockatrice befriends Blind Boy, and they decide to travel the different worlds together. After the performance ends, Blind Boy, Cockatrice, and Parrot leave Hell in order to rescue Hercules from the snakes sent by that Juno sent.

String marionette

Not specified

Craig Edward Gordon

Italy

Marina di Pisa

Printed excerpts

Unfaithfulness

Latin Mythology

Hell

Monster

Evil

Descent into hell

Fantasy

Comical

Satirical

Parodistic

English

Jupiter - Parrot - Pluto - Cockatrice & Blind-Boy

1st version

Puppet

Juno

Jupiter (Jove)

Mercury

Worker

Blind Boy

Blind

Parrot

Pretty Polly

Columbus

Servant

Devil

Pluto

Slimy-Go-Gurgle-And-Twirl

Snake

Cockatrice

Basilic

Worm

Cock, cockerel

Theatre within the theatre

Egg eclosion

Verbal imitation

Argument

Blind character

Disguised character (false identity)

Analepsis (Flash-back)

Anachronism

Avista

Hell (1916)

Enfer

The play begins in Hell: a small bedroom in an apartment in Cheapside, London. Pluto, the God of Hell, is an old man in a dressing gown and slippers who sleeps in his armchair while angel-faced devils sing him a lullaby. He is awakened by the announcement of the arrival of two visitors. Before they enter, Pluto orders the place to be changed in accordance with the expected aspects of Hell: cauldrons, damned souls, flames, and devils. The two visitors, Blind-boy and Pretty Polly the parrot, are introduced to Pluto and his favorite snake, Slimy-Go-Gurgle-and-Twirl. They are sentenced to boil in the cauldron of Hell, but Pretty Polly states that it has a gift for Pluto in its bag. Pluto asks to see it. The gift is an egg containing six others, all of different colors and set one into the other. The “Worm of worms”, Cockatrice, hatches from the smallest, killing all the snakes of Hell and frightening everyone. Pluto gifts his ring to Blind-Boy so that he can take Cockatrice away, but Blind-Boy informs him that he is his mother and offers to share how it came to be. They all sit in front of a small theater where the story of Cockatrice’s birth is narrated. In the cockney neighborhood of London, Jove, dressed up as a rooster, enters Blind-Woman and Blind-Boy’s shop in order to buy pigeon milk. He hands over an egg to Blind-Boy, who is blind and cannot see that Cockatrice is ready to hatch. As the sight of Cockatrice is dangerous—it would even be fatal for him to see himself in a mirror—Jove asks Blind-Boy to be Cockatrice’s mother and to never reveal to him who his father is. After hatching, Cockatrice befriends Blind-Boy, and they decide to travel the different worlds together. After the performance ends, Blind-Boy, Cockatrice, and Pretty Polly leave Hell in order to save Hercules from the snakes sent by Juno.

Printed

Edward Gordon Craig, front cover of the manuscript of the 3rd version of Hell, 1918.