Un caprice

Printed

13 pages

Un caprice

| 1863 | Paris, France
Characters
Florestan, Urinette
Number of acts
1
Note

Un caprice is part of the collection Le Théâtre érotique de la rue de la Santé, which gathers some of the plays performed at the Erôtikon Théatron in 1862 and 1863. This collective project led by a group of writers, painters and composers aimed at creating shows in which erotic themes could be freely and crudely addressed. The shows were performed for an audience of about fifty guests, including Paul Féval, Henry Monnier, Champfleury, Duranty and Alphonse Daudet. The puppet booth was placed in a glazed room that was used as an antechamber for the house where Amédée Rolland and Jean Duboys (among others) lived, on 45 Rue de la Santé in Paris. Puppeteer Lemercier de Neuville was the painter, architect, stagehand, director and also one of the authors of the Erôtikon Théatron.

During the first performance, an outraged member of the audience left in the middle of the show. The member in question was Ludwig Wihl (1807-1882), a German poet whom the organisers had led to believe that the puppet theatre on Rue de la Santé performed plays “of refined literary taste”.

The title of the play is a reference to a play by Alfred de Musset (Un caprice, 1837).

Plot summary

A husband’s attempted infidelity fails

Florestant – a young married man – left his wife in their house and went to see Urinette – a prostitute. However, neither Urinette’s touch nor his own imagination succeed in animating the young man. After several unsuccessful attempts, Urinette – desperate and furious – leaves Florestant alone and ashamed.

Composition date
1863

First performance

Paris, France, October 1863

Publications and translations

Publication

Le Théâtre érotique de la rue de la Santé. Batignolles : 1864-1866.

Modern edition

Le Théâtre érotique du XIXe siècle. Paris: Jean-Claude Lattès,1979.

Language
French
Literary tones
Comical, Erotic
Animations techniques
Glove-puppet
Audience
Adults
Licence
Public domain

Key-words

Theatrical techniques

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Written by

Sofiia Hultiaieva