'Na purga 'e sale inglese (A purge of English salt) is a play for glove-puppets written by Francesco and Salvatore Ferrajolo. The plays performed by members of this family of puppeteers are very similar to those performed by actors in theatres using local dialects. In some cases, the plays really are adaptions of texts by famous authors such as Antonio Petito or Eduardo Scarpetta. Most of the time, more than two characters are present on stage. These shows are thus played by several puppeteers, in a booth big enough to accommodate them.

As in other plays by the Ferrajolos, the two main characters are Pulcinella and Felice. Felice Sciosciammocca – a character who became famous thanks to actor and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta – is a representative of Neapolitan polite society. In the Ferrajolos’ plays, Felice is a friend of Pulcinella and a foil to him. He is a cultured man, who speaks the Neapolitan dialect with the accent of bourgeois and aristocrats.

Pulcinella serves the house of Lady Celestina. He comes back from a medical appointment with one kilo of English salt to purge himself. He leaves it in the kitchen. Celestina asks for a favour. He must pose as her husband, who is travelling, and sends back one of her suitors. But Pulcinella cannot remember the sentence Celestina suggested he told the suitor. Meanwhile, Felice – Celestina’s piano teacher – arrives. Felice is starving and drinks a broth in which the English salt has been mixed. Thus, when Celestina asks him to pretend to be her husband, Felice is suffering from stomach aches and cannot rehearse his role either. Then Celestina asks for her neighbour’s help. Contrary to Pulcinella and Felice, endeavours to play his role well – as he used to be an actor in his youth. When Celestina’s suitor arrives, Pulcinella, Felice and the neighbour all play the role of Celestina’s husband. Much confusion ensues, heightened by the arrival of Celestina’s real husband.