Les Plaideurs malgré eux

Printed

16 pages

Les Plaideurs malgré eux

| 1862 | Paris, France
Characters
Premier Avocat, Deuxième Avocat, Pierrot, Mme Bégriche, Le Commissaire, Le Perroquet, Le Chat
Number of acts
3
Note

It is not possible to say with certainty whether the play was actually performed in the puppet theatre opened by Duranty in the Tuileries Gardens. The play borrows from comedy the satire of justice and the parody of trials in which the little people, although innocent, are always punished. In a fast-paced tempo, the chases and blows of the baton bring the play back to the traditional repertoire for the glove puppet.

Plot summary

The fatal failure of two unscrupulous lawyers

Two hungry lawyers are looking for clients by all means. One would like to urge Pierrot, the other Mme Bégriche to sue anyone under any pretext. But they refuse, flee and then hit the lawyers. The two lawyers join forces to create a dispute: one kills Pierrot's cat and accuses Mme Bégriche of the crime, while the other kills Mme Bégriche's parrot and blames the cat. Dragged to court by their lawyers, the two plaintiffs, victims of the Commissaire's stupidity, were sentenced to be hanged. But they escape without paying any fees and beat up the lawyers who are chasing them. The two lawyers blame each other for this failure and fight to death.

First performance

Paris, France,

Théâtre des Marionnettes du jardin des Tuileries

Publications and translations

Publication

Duranty, Théâtre des marionnettes du jardin des Tuileries, texte et composition des dessins par M. Duranty. Paris: MM. Dubuisson et Cie, Éditeurs-Libraires, 1862.

Modern edition

Louis Edmond Duranty, Théâtre des marionnettes, Arles : Actes sud, 1995.

Language
French
Literary tones
Comical, Satirical, Parodistic, Farcical
Animations techniques
Glove-puppet
Audience
All audiences
Licence
Public domain

Key-words

Theatrical techniques

Identifiers

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Written by

Carole Guidicelli