Casperl gets drunk with the hunter Thomerl and Thomerl offers to put Casperl’s wife Grethl to the test: Casperl has to fake an illness that will lead to his death, and Thomerl, disguised as a doctor, will come and certify the death. As soon as Casperl is pronounced dead, Grethl tries to console herself in the arms of Lieutenant Pulvermann. The fake dead man is resurrected, a fight ensues in which Pulvermann is killed and the corpse is taken backstage. A police officer comes to seize Casperl, but husband and wife join forces against the impetuous man, who is forced to give in to the violence. To celebrate their reconciliation, Casperl and Grethl go to the inn, where they also meet with Thomerl.

Not specified

Pocci Franz von

Germany

Munich

Printed

Wedding

Household

Philosophy

Beer

Wine

Gluttony

Doctor

Drunkenness

Medicine

Grief

Scatology

Reconciliation

Tavern

Comical

Farcical

German

Ein beispielloses Spektakelstück

Kasperl

Thomerl

Madame Kasperl

Lieutenant

Police officer

Monologue

Macaronism

Word for another

Song

Spying scene

Parody of formal language

Aside

Fake death

Disguise

Dream

Brawl

Murder on stage

Dance

Slaps

Die Prüfung

The test

Incarcerated for his debts, Casperl is freed from prison by a small child, Capricerl, who is the guide of Fortuna, the blind goddess. While being pursued, Casperl finds refuge with Klaus, a hermit who reveals himself to be the Devil. However, Fortuna bet against Bios, the genie of life, that her gifts could make someone happy: Casperl will be her guinea pig. She repels the Devil and makes Casperl win the lottery. But the newly rich man is tyrannical and angry to the point of becoming sick. He goes so far as to miss the simple and modest life he once had, and curses his fortune. The goddess understands her defeat and brings him back to his normal self. Casperl goes to the inn.

String marionette

Young audiences

Despair

Thirst

Destiny

Debt

Happiness

Blindness

Widower

Gas balloon

Jail

Breaking out

Latin Mythology

Bingo

Fantasy

Burlesque

Kasperl im Schuldturm

Genie

Goddess of Fortune

Innkeeper

Old man

Hermit

Devil

Verschiedene Erscheinungen und Verwandlungen

Apparition

Allegory

Off-stage voice

Flying machine

Apparition of the Devil

Versified passages

Pact with the devil

Thunderbolt

Chorus

Story

Metatheatre

Metamorphosis

Transforming scenery

Address to the public

Das Glück ist blind

Luck is blind

Casperl inherits money from his neighbor Frau Bas, who recently died: it's a fortune. He passes a miserable evening, tormented by the idea that people are plotting to steal his money. He even cries out about a fire. The next day, Grethel buys the latest style of toilet, hires a cook… Casperl goes out to drink at the tavern with his friend, the hunter Tomerl. However, when he returns, the notary Stahlfeder is there to announce to the cleaners that Madame Casperl's purchases and the settling of debts with the tavern have exhausted the fortune of Frau Bas—there is nearly nothing left. Casperl throws out the notary and police chief Schnuffler, who came with a fine for nighttime disturbances. He then scarfs down a plate of Knödel that his cook prepared while declaring that he doesn't need money as long as he keeps his good spirits.

Burial

Coffee

Inheritance

Wealth

Fear

Night

Paranoia

Conflagration

Fashion

Knödel

Satirical

Zwischenspiel in zwei Abteilungen

Hunter

Fireman

Notary

Cook

Shopkeeper

Night watchman

Sung scenes

Final song

Current affairs

Die Erbschaft

L'Héritage

After paladins Bradamante and Ruggiero get married, Emperor Carlo Magno holds a celebration. But the treacherous paladin Gano hatches a plot to turn the feast into violence and chaos. He plays dice with Rinaldo, who has already won a lot thanks to the money he borrowed from Orlando. Rinaldo wins, but Gano accuses him of cheating. A fight between Gano’s accomplices from Mainz and the other paladins erupts. Rinaldo is about to kill Gano when Carlo Magno arrives. The latter asks Orlando to arrest Rinaldo for not complying with his sovereign’s order. However, Orlando believes that Rinaldo is innocent and lets him escape. When Carlo slaps Orlando as a punishment, Orlando leaves, swearing that he will never protect his king ever again. Husband-and-wife and paladins Carinda and Cladinoro wish to live a restful life after long years of battles and hardships. However, Cladinoro has a bad feeling. A messenger arrives and informs them that King Attamante besieged Soldanella and that he will only spare his life if he leaves the city. Cladinoro refuses to yield and his son Candellino throws the messenger out. In the meantime, Orlando makes his way to pagan lands. There, he meets Antiforo di Barosia, who commands him to give him his arms. They pick a fight, and Antiforo dies. Orlando cuts his head off and switches clothes with his dead opponent’s. He can thus pretend to be dead so he can take on Antiforo’s identity and fight Carlo. Malgigi, a paladin and a magician, helps him and makes the mark that all members of the French royal family wear appear on the dead man’s shoulder. In Soldanella, King Attamante is furious with the response given to his messenger. The two armies clash in battle, and Attamante and Cladinoro fight until nightfall. In his royal palace, Carlo Magno, full of sorrow after he offended his nephew Orlando, learns that he is dead. The king and all the paladins of France mourn the death of Orlando while Gano secretly rejoices. Aldabella recognizes Orlando thanks to the mark he wears on his right shoulder. She grieves for her late husband, and curses and condemns Carlo. Meanwhile, in Soldanella, the fight between Attamante and Cladinoro resumes. Attamante loses, and his men attack Cladinoro, as agreed before the duel. Cladinoro vanquishes them all and kills Attamante.

Rod and string marionette

Armed rod marionette

Italy

Naples

Manuscript

Honour

Love

Seat

Duel

Treason

Dice game

Party

Cycle of performances

Epic

Italian

Paladin

Orlando

Paladin (female)

Bradamante

Marfisia

Knight

Moorish

Saracen

Roger

Renaud de Montauban

Charlemagne (King)

Traitor

Ganelon

Oliver

Ogier the Dane

Gandellino

Messenger

Warrior

Sorcerer

Wife

Widow

Aldabella

Shouts of acclamation in several voices

Crowd

Sword fight

Character thrown out of the scene

Disguised character (false identity)

Orlando e Rinaldo Parte prima Antiforo di Barosia

Orlando et Rinaldo first instalment Antiforo di Barosia

Clara, a young teenage girl, has killed herself. The day after, the Arpenteur (surveyor) questions several of her relatives to try and understand the circumstances of her death. Whilst he looks for the reasons that led to this act, he also tries to grasp the reasons that motivate him to live. Each of Clara’s relatives describe memories of her and provide contradictory stories of her last moments. Dylan, her boyfriend, admits he felt that she had no desire to live. From the hereafter, Clara observes the same feeling in others. She hears the song that Dylan hums for her and tries to call for him, but to he can’t see her. Adrien, Pierre, and Sylvain, whose job is to start fires, say that they saw Clara with the Passeur (the ferryman). In a flashback, we can see Clara asking the Passeur to choose how she is going to die. A chorus of naiads then describes how she drowned in the river. The Arpenteur asks the Passeur to bring Clara back from the dead. The Arpenteur solves a riddle, and the Passeur allows Clara’s relatives to see her one last time. Clara appears and sees how they all suffer, but she assures them that she is happier dead than alive.

France

Paris

Suicide

Mysterious death

Remembrance

Quest

Afterlife

Lust

fleuve

Tragic

Philosophical tale

Fantastic

Éloi Recoing, Un instant suicidaire, Théâtre aux Mains Nues, 2008

French

Concerto pour marionnettes à la mémoire d'un ange

Dead woman

Smuggler

Lover

Naïade

Analepsis (Flash-back)

Aria

Dead talking character

Ghost

Un instant suicidaire

A suicidal moment

Whilst she is walking on a beach, Caroline, a puppeteer, tells Filip the story of how they met twenty years ago. The action of the play goes back to that time, when she was a student and was attending her last drawing class. The teacher gives them a horse as part of a teaching experiment. The horse suddenly bursts in the classroom. Sacha is then informed that her father, who lives in another country thousands of miles away, is dying. Caroline offers to go with her and so she can say her last goodbye. They drive there with Raphaël, whose girlfriend Marie lives close to their final destination. When they arrive at Marie’s house, Raphaël learns that Marie has been cheating on him with his brother. He still decides to stay with her. Caroline and Sasha leave and arrive in the holiday cottage of one of their classmates. There, Caroline meets Filip. They share a night of love, but at dawn, he is gone. Caroline and Sasha continue their journey where they witness an accident, and they arrive in the village where Sasha’s father lives. Sasha goes to join him whilst Caroline walks along the little streets and meets the villagers. Sasha comes back and announces that her father died. She’s holding a picture of herself when she was a child, and starts talking to the picture and telling it about her passion for puppets. The next day, Sasha and Caroline attend the funeral, and then take a plane to go back to France.

Shadow theatre

Direct Manipulation Bunraku-type Puppetry

Human sized puppet

Charleville-Mézières

Electronic text

Journey

Death

Passion

Future

Unfaithfulness

Road-movie

Realist

Dramatic

François Cervantès, Attends-moi, Charleville-Mézières, 2010.