This short play was performed in one the puppet theatres on the Avenue des Champ-Élysées; it is known thanks to the transcription given by the journalist Auguste Villemot (1811-1870) in the Figaro-programme, a daily paper specialised in current theatrical events. The transcription shows that Polichinelle was not the only character in these performances, and that he could be replaced by Pierrot. At the time, the name “Théâtre de Guignol” was the generic label given to performances in open-air puppet booths (typically with glove-puppets, but here with string marionettes), before the character from Lyon was made popular in Paris. The entry to these performances (for a seat in the small enclosure in front of the puppet booth) cost two sous, or ten centimes.

The transcription of the comedy is followed by the parody of a piece of theatrical criticism in which Villemot discusses the poor state of certain puppets: Marcassin’s puppet, for instance, no longer has a string on its left hand.

The present note was written based on a handwritten copy of Villemot’s article kept in the Fonds Léopold Dor of the Musée des Arts de la Marionnette - Musées Gadagne in Lyon.

Pierrot visits the marriage broker Marcassin: he wishes to marry a woman with a large dowry, which would allow him to pay off his debts. After questioning him about his preferences, Marcassin recommends Mademoiselle Putiphar, a 45 years old hunchbacked woman with only one eye. He calls his servant Catherine, asks her to go and get Mademoiselle Putiphar, and pretends to leave. Pierrot gropes Catherine and asks her if she wants to be his lover while he will display his future wife in a fairground booth. Catherine agrees, and as they both leave, Marcassin congratulates himself on marrying his daughter.

In the second tableau, the messy clothes of Catherine and Pierrot show that they made love. The Commissaire (Superintendent) questions Pierrot and tells him that he has been watching Marcassin for a long time: he opened a marriage agency with the sole intent of marrying his own daughter, Catherine. As Pierrot is caught with Catherine, the Commissaire obliges him to marry her, and weds them with Marcassin’s blessing.