Quarlous and Winwife visit the office of their friend John Littlewit, a legal clerk. Both men want to marry Littlewit's mother, Lady Purecraft. They argue over which of them has the better chance of winning her heart. They are joined by other characters, including Bartholomew Cokes, who has come to collect a license to marry Grace Welborn. Littlewit invites the characters to come to the Bartholomew Fair to see the puppet show he has put on. Adam Overdo, a judge and Grace Welborn’s guardian, decides to disguise himself in order to uncover all the crimes committed during the fair. The plot shifts to the popular world of the Smithfield district, and Littlewit’s group soon finds itself confronted with the debauchery of the fair: Overdo is tricked by Mooncalf, a waitress, and Edgworth, a thief. Edgworth then steals money from Bartholomew Cokes. Overdo, in disguise, is suspected of being the thief’s accomplice. Quarlous and Winwife discover that the culprit is none other than Edgworth, and Quarlous hires him to steal Cokes’s marriage license. Overdo, Wasp (a servant of Cokes who caused a brawl) and the false preacher Zeal-of-the-Land Busy are sentenced to the gallows, while Win Littlewit and Mistress Overdo are encouraged to drink to excess. Trouble-All, a madman, has a fit of madness because no arrest warrant has been issued for Overdo, Wasp and Busy. His outburst creates a diversion and the three men manage to escape from their sentence. All the characters go to John Littlewit's puppet show, which brings together the love story of Hero and Leander and the friendship of Damon and Pythias. Zeal-of-the-Land Busy constantly interrupts the show to denounce its immoral and blasphemous nature. Puppet Dionysus puts an end to the debate by pulling up its costume, reminding Busy that puppets have no sex: its status as an "object" prompts Busy to change his mind, transforming him into a model spectator.

Not specified

Jonson Ben

Great Britain

London

Printed

Theatre

Debauchery

Fair

Religion

Love

Friendship

Comical

Farcical

English

Puppeteer

Leandre

Puppet

Waiter

Pythias

Damon

Hero (priestess)

Dionysos

Dialogue between actor and puppet

Undressed character on stage

Punching

Kicking

Puppet theatre within the theatre

Bartholomew Fair

La Foire de la Saint-Barthélemy

Rosaura, a young woman, and Doralice, an elderly widow, talk about an admirer who has been sending flowers and gifts to Rosaura. Doralice advises her to accept his courting, but Rosaura is in love with Florindo, who is poor. Rosaura receives a bouquet, a ring and a note, all thrown on the sill of her window by Facanapa, Count of Castelbianco. She decides to let him come up, so that she can give him his gifts back. She sends Arlecchino to meet the Count, who reacts by hitting him. Facanapa enters Rosaura’s room through the window. She asks Arlecchino to make him leave, but Facanapa kicks him again before paying him to become his servant. Pantalone, Rosaura’s father, is annoyed by the presence of the Count in his daughter’s bedroom after she has explained the situation to him. Pantalone agrees to rent Rosaura’s bedroom to the Count for the night. Florido arrives and angrily requests compensation. The Count has Florindo then Pantalone tied up to a chair by Arlecchino. The Count informs Pantalone that he is wealthy, and is planning on marrying Rosaura without asking for a dowry. Pantalone agrees, even though he thinks that the Count is slightly odd. The latter explains that he wanted proof of the love between the two young lovers and of the greediness of Pantalone, who was willing to give his daughter to anybody regardless of their identity. To everyone’s surprise, he marries Rosaura and Florindo and reveals that he is the rich uncle of the orphan Florindo, and that he comes from America. He says that he will give the newlyweds luxurious presents and properties in Veneto if he receives their affection. He also wants to keep Arlecchino, who is only too happy to serve him.

String marionette

All audiences

Italy

Wealth

Trap

Avarice

Dowry

Wedding

Le stravaganze di Facanapa, ed. Chiopris

Venetian

Young woman

Widow

Facanapa

Count

Uncle

Arlecchino

Pantaloon

Father

Florindo

Young man

Misunderstanding

Scene of recognition

Le stravaganze di Facanapa

Facanapa’s eccentricities

Smeraldina and Facanapa, two servants in love, argue because Facanapa is jealous when Smeraldina pays attention to her appearance. She tells him that she is doing this for him, and also to obtain tips that allow her to pay for certain things. Pantalone, Smeraldina’s employer, asks her if she intends to marry Facanapa (who is a genuinely good guy), so that his wife no longer suspects their relationship. Facanapa comes back and says that the cellar has been flooded because he opened the barrels. Pantalone kicks him, and, angry, decides that Smeraldina will marry the shopkeeper Arlecchino. Meanwhile, Arlecchino asks Tartaglia for his daughter Rosaura’s hand, but she wants to marry Florindo and so rejects his advances. A discomfited Arlecchino leaves and encounters Pantalone who offers for him to marry Smeraldina. Facanapa hides from Pantalone in a tree, and overhears the conversation. Smeraldina agrees to marry Arlecchino, and Facanapa, very angry, wants to hang himself. Smeraldina saves him; Pantalone agrees to their wedding and even provides a dowry. Once again, Arlecchino ends up without a wife.

Suicide

Unrequited love

Il Matrimonio di Facanapa, ed. Chiopris, 1910.

Servant

Waitress

Shopkeeper

Spying scene

Love rivalry

Failed suicide

Il matrimonio di Facanapa

Facanapa's wedding

On the advice of Lafleur, Titine Calicot, gave up her studies and now works as a sales assistant in a sex shop. She thinks that Lafleur is a good man but Sandrine, his wife, does not agree with that. She believes he spends too much time with other women, does not work, does not earn any money and spends all of his free time drinking. Gégène, the owner of a pub, comes looking for Lafleur for he has not paid her in 6 months. Sandrine gets worried – if Lafleur is not at Gégène’s pub, where could he have gone? Papa Tchutchu, the landlord, demands that the rent for the past six months be paid. Sandrine tries to explain that she and her husband are living off her income, because Lafleur does not work and he claims to be ill. Papa Tchutchu hesitates over calling court baillifs, for Lafleur is capable of beating them and of making a scene. Gégène returns and explains that she has heard that Lafleur was hit by a car. Given the circumstances, Papa Tchutchu, gives up on being paid back. Titine has doubts, though – Gégène might have been mistaken. Blaise has also heard about Lafleur’s accident and cannot believe that he has really passed away. Him, Sandrine, Gégène and Paupaul reminisce about Lafleur and his banter. Lafleur comes back alive and enters the grieving house. He explains that it is not he who has been crushed, but old Marie’s flower. He is very angry with Gégène, who prefers to flee to avoid his kicks. Lafleur wants to know what has been said of him when it was thought he had passed away. Death enters. She, too, has heard that Lafleur had died. She comes to get him, but Lafleur kicks her away.