When Alexander von Bernus opened his shadow theatre in 1907 in the artistic neighbourhood of Schwabing in Munich, he wished to present a new form of art, which he explicitly connected with the Romantic tradition. This new form of art would be different from the shows of the Chat Noir cabaret in Paris and make better use of the immaterial quality of shadows to venture into the realms of the soul and of dreams. Mysticism pervaded the intellectual and artistic circles of Munich at the beginning of the 20th century, and it had something to do with this project too, since it aimed at “the most metaphysical union of image, poetry and music”.

For this play, Rolf von Hoerschelman crafted rococo sets and silhouettes which evoked Watteau’s Fêtes galantes: the sensual game which the characters are engaging in, their refined words and the garden ornamented with statues suggest this idealised vision of a frivolous and flighty 18th century.

Tired of always being surrounded by unwelcome suitors, Pimpernelle organises a fake game of blind man’s buff with Lydia. Blindfolded, Pimpernelle will have to guess who is the man kissing her: the first one to be recognised will be the lucky man. Worried about the unpredictable outcome of the game, Estragon, Pimpernelle’s lover, is immediately reassured: at Lydia’s signal, Pimpernelle will know when it is Estragon's turn to kiss her. It is arranged that the game will start the same evening in a garden. As planned, Estragon is recognised and their love is revealed. At nightfall, the statues of a nymph and of a faun come to life, express their mutual desire, and then lament the rising of the sun. At dawn, the nuptial ceremony begins and the procession sets forth.