Climène – a provincial woman who abhors the countryside – is staying at an inn in Paris, to keep her father company while he is being kept in the city for a trial. Together with her servant Laurette and two of her friends, the Marquis and Timante, they make fun of the way the other characters speak. They all attend a puppet show, comment on it, and are chided by the puppet Pantalon.

Not specified

Poisson Raymond (aka Belleroche)

France

Paris

Printed

Very young girl's marriage

Provincial life

Talking ridiculous

Comical

French

ou les Marionnettes

Marquis

Vicomtess

Gascon

Normand

Flemish

Brisefer

Innkeeper

Fanchon

Pantaloon

Inn scene

Comical foreign accent

Comical regional accent

Puppet theatre within the theatre

L'Après-souper des auberges

The After-supper at the inns

Polichinelle and the Compère talk about a naval battle which has just taken place. A troupe of French and Italian comedians is attacked at sea by corsairs led by a French renegade. The latter brings them to Tunis. The actors put on a show for the Gouverneur (Governor), scare the audience with Arlequin’s mask and are sent to work in the fields. The actresses reject the Gouverneur’s advances (Governor). The renegade plans their escape, so that they can go back to France.

Rod and string marionette

Manuscript

Relationship between Christians and Muslims

Tunisia

Corsair

Slavery

Treason

Renegade

Harassment

Minor news

Agriculture

Censorship

Dramatic

Actor

Polichinelle

The Interpreter

Soldier

Pierrot

Messenger

Swiss

Leandre

Arlecchino

Theatre within the theatre

Song

Masked characters

Avista

Prologue

Dialogue with a character in the audience

Current affairs

Naval combat

La Prise d'une troupe de comédiens par un corsaire de Tunis au mois de septembre 1740

A troupe of actors captured by a corsair from Tunis in September 1740

Saint Joseph and the Virgin Mary come on, looking for a place to rest. Marie is about to give birth to the Infant Jesus, but all the doors are locked. They exit the stage. The next scenery shows the Nativity scene with the Holy Family. A choir accompanied by guitar music announces the birth of Jesus and the arrival of the Shepherds, who have come to bring him gifts. They exit the stage when the Magi arrive. The latter leave the gifts and greet the child. The Choirmaster of the Angels initiates the Dance of the Angels and the play ends with a last song of praise, sung in unison.

Single rod marionettes

Portugal

Borba

Évora

Crib

Nativity

Peasant condition

Religious

Lyrical

Satirical

Bonecos de Santo Aleixo: Joseph, Mary and the Infant Jesus

Portuguese

Joseph

Virgin Mary

Angel

Shepherd

Wise Men (Biblical Magi)

Melopoeia

Chorus

Board

Kicking on the ground (sound effect)

Sung scenes

Auto do Nascimento do Menino

Auto of the Nativity

Punch gets his nose bitten by Toby, the dog. Its master, Scaramouche, accuses him of of having abused his dog, and they fight with sticks until his head splits from his body under Punch’s blows. In the following scene, Punch asks Judy for their infant in order to take care of him. However, irritated by his cries, he hits him against the frame of the puppet booth, and throws him in the middle of the audience. In the feud that follows, Punch hits Judy to death using a stick. He then has an affair with Pretty Polly. In the second act, Punch is thrown to the ground by his horse, Hector, and ends up beating to death the Doctor who came to help him. He makes a lot of noise, ringing a bell, and fights with the neighbour who came to ask him to stop. In the third act, Punch fights with a blind man. When policemen and Jack Ketch, a hangman, come to stop him, Punch hits them but is finally imprisoned. Punch must be hung, but he manages to have Jack Ketch hung instead. At the end, the Devil intervenes and fights with Punch, but Punch emerges triumphant.

Glove-puppet

Stick

Animal

Marseillaise

Infant

Father

Household

Couple

Murder

Serial murder

Noise

Music

Gallows

Justice

Cruelty

Farcical

Scaramouche

Baby

Doctor

Domestic servant

Blind

Police Superintendant

Constable

Executioner

Devil

Horse

Mrs Polichinelle

Address to the public

Off-stage voice

Dance

Blow-with-a-stick

Splitting of the body

Domestic scene

Speechless character

Hanging scene

Blind character

Final intervention of the devil

Character thrown out of the scene

Animal dressé

The Tragical Comedy, or Comical Tragedy, of Punch and Judy.

Polichinelle finds himself without any money, and his house has been burnt down by the Prussiens (Prussians). Pierrot’s situation is even worse: the Prussiens burnt down his mill and killed his wife and kids. Polichinelle wants to enroll in the army so as not to starve to death. The two friends go for drinks at Mère Bacanale’s cabaret. The Sergent (Sergeant) lets La Grenade (the Grenade) stand guard. A first Soldat prussien (Prussian Soldier) arrives, and La Grenade kills him with a bayonet. A second Soldat prussien wounds La Grenade before running away. The Cantinière (Dinner Lady) gives La Grenade something to drink, takes his rifle and stands guard in her stead. She kills the Soldat prussien that was coming back, and tells what just happened to the Sergent and Polichinelle. The Sergent tells her that she will be honoured, and he lets Polichinelle stand guard. Polichinelle fights the Prussiens and kills them all, including Bismarck and the king of Prussia, Guillaume Ier (William I). The Diable (Devil) takes the corpses away.

Guérin André-Paul-Julien

Bordeaux

Typewriting

Dead for the homeland

War crime

Female warrior

Conscription

Heroic

André Guérin, Les Prussiens en France

Sergeant

Grenadier

General

Napoléon III

Otto von Bismarck

Guillaume I

Canterbury worker

Prussian

Fight

Death on stage

Hidden character

Apparition of the Devil

Les Prussiens en France

The Prussians in France

On the road to Amiens, Lafleur is arrested by a sentry. He explains who he is and his friend Blaise appears at this moment; he has been following him since Querrieu, thinking that Lafleur would enroll in the army. When Lafleur hears that his friend wants to become a soldier, he joins him, deciding that he will fulfill his duty after the war. Once recruited, the two friends stand guard at the entrance of the Querrieu woods. All of a sudden, they hear noises, coming from a spy on his way to inform general Manteuffel of what the French are planning. Lafleur stops him, but general Faidherbe, who has just arrived with his soldiers, tells him to release the spy, because the French do not do things the same way as the German. Catherine, Lafleur’s wife, had to flee Querrieu after it was destroyed by the Prussians. While crossing the woods, she is arrested by the Prussians who assault and abduct her. Lafleur, who has heard the cries, arrives too late to defend his spouse. The colonel arrives with his soldiers who have heard the cannon shots. Lafleur points to the direction in which the Prussians went. A battle begins. The colonel, hit by a bullet, hands leadership over to Lafleur. Believing that his wife is dead, Lafleur fights the Prussian army mercilessly, until he is wounded too. The battle ends when Blaise brings the living Catherine to Lafleur. Faldherbe announces that the French have won and that Lafleur is a French hero. Catherine asks to follow her husband on the battlefields and the general grants her permission. The musicians play the Marseillaise. Everyone sings and shouts “Vive la France!”.

Rod marionette

Amiens

Woman battered and kidnapped

Brave woman

Heroism

Epic

Picard language

Lafleur

Blaise

Sentinelle

Louis Faidherbe

Spy (man)

Colonel

Battlefield scene

Apotheosis

Final song

El Bataille ed Querriu

The Battle of Querrieu

In the Valais canton, the sun rises over a pathway and a small wooden house. The mountains appear in the background. It is spring; the goatherd’s horn can be heard in the valley and the goats come running. The village of Savièze comes to life: the girls riding on mules’ backs go to work in the vineyard, two women are chatting, the pigs try to run away from the farmers,… A family of English tourists goes on a walk guided by Lord Quick, who is leading his daughters as a shepherd guides his flock… A storm breaks out in the valley, forcing the tourists, the shepherds and the animals to seek shelter. After the storm, the hikers finish climbing the high mountain and a chamois hunt resumes. Bells and prayers can be heard as a procession slowly walks towards the old chapel of Savièze: the women, the penitents, the priests, the altar children and the elderly are all part of it. The village finally celebrates Christmas before falling asleep under the snow.

Shadow theatre

All audiences

Switzerland

Geneva

Printed outline

Mountain

Seasons

Storm

Bucolic

Christmas

Alps

Tourism

Nature

Realist

Outline of Henri van Muyden's Goatherd for En Valais, copied in Le Sapajou.

L'Après-souper des auberges

ou les Marionnettes

La Prise d'une troupe de comédiens par un corsaire de Tunis au mois de septembre 1740

Auto do Nascimento do Menino

Polichinelle

Les Prussiens en France

El Bataille ed Querriu

En Valais

Guignol à Fachoda

Polichinelle (de Guignol)

Lully enfant prodige