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

Not specified

France

Amiens

Typewriting

Woman battered and kidnapped

Dead for the homeland

Marseillaise

Brave woman

Heroism

Comical

Dramatic

Heroic

Epic

Picard language

Lafleur

Blaise

Sentinelle

Sergeant

Louis Faidherbe

General

Spy (man)

Colonel

Prussian

Soldier

Battlefield scene

Comical foreign accent

Apotheosis

Final song

Song

Death on stage

El Bataille ed Querriu

The Battle of Querrieu

Rosa – the keeper of the “Zum Golden Stern” inn – wants her daughter Analies to marry Kasper, the waiter, so that he does not go to war and can protect the inn. But Analies hesitates. She A Zouave, who promises her a rich life after the war, courts her. Kasperl is disappointed and enlists in the Prussian army. After arresting a Jewish spy, he receives a bonus and finds favour with his major who makes him his Fourierschütz (a soldier assigned to an officer for protection and personal service). Kasperl follows his regiment and arrives near Sedan, where he meets Analies again. She has been abandoned in the middle of a battlefield by the Zouave, who was sick of her. She wants to go back to Kasperl. The major forces them to marry. Analies agrees on the spot, but Kasperl has reservations about it: what if she leaves him again? Analies promises to be faithful and Kasperl agrees to marry her. Kasperl’s major must escort prisoners to Strasbourg. Kasperl and Analies go back to the inn. Rosa was worried about her daughter’s and her waiter’s fates. The wedding is celebrated with dances, while rows of prisoners parade outside the inn.

Germany

Electronic text

Money

Anti-Semitism

Nationalism

Loyalty in love

German

Kasperls kriegerische Heldenthaten

Innkeeper

Fiancée

Waiter

Fourierschütz

Kasperl

Zouave

Prisoner

Captain

Lieutenant

Auxiliary

Shopkeeper

Schoolteacher

Surgeon

Batman

Love rivalry

Beating with a broom

Dance

Die Schlacht bei Sedan am 2 September 1870

The Battle of Sedan on 2 September 1870

Guignol tells the Directeur (Director) that he thinks highly of theatre. He asks to be introduced to the audience, and jokes with him about being made of wood. Ubu kills the king Venceslas. The Queen dies, and the Ombre (Shadow) of one of her ancestors gives the young prince Bougrelas a sword, so that he can avenge his father. Ubu robs and slaughters Nobles, dismisses the judges and makes them all fall through the trapdoor. Ubu goes fight the Russian army, and Mère Ubu (Mother Ubu) and her accomplice Giron try to steal his treasures while he is away. On the battlefield, Ubu is chased out by the Russian army led by the Tzar. An Ours (bear) attacks general Lascy and prevails. In the meantime, Ubu has taken shelter in a tree. Mère Ubu meets her husband and they both prepare to leave for France. But Bougrelas appears and has them arrested by the Gendarmes (Police), and asks for them to locked up in France and for Père Ubu (Father Ubu)’s brain to be removed.

Glove-puppet

Jarry Alfred

Paris

Printed

Regicide

Tyranny

Theft

Voracity

Treasure

Slaughter

Army

Revenge

Police (French gendarmerie)

Grotesque

Farcical

Ubu's puppet in Ubu sur la butte, 1901.

French

Father Ubu

Mother Ubu

Queen

Ghost

Emperor

Noble

Clerk

Magistrato

Counselor

Financiers

Russian

Pole

Ours

Horse

Constable

Prologue

Blow-with-a-stick

Murder on stage

Apparition of a ghost

Parade

Plot scene

Chase

Fight with an animal

Ubu sur la butte

Ubu on the hilllock

Josuez l’Autrichien (Josuez the Austrian) would like to marry Flore, but her uncle – a rich farmer named Danglois – objects to it. Josuez kills Danglois. Flore believes that her uncle has joined the army. She sets off in search of the French troops, but she ends up meeting the Austrians. When they hear her scream, the French come to her rescue, and they engage in battle against the Austrians.
Josuez tries to get rid of Fanfan, an orphan raised at the farm and who is in love with Flore. Flore returns to the farm. Josuez follows her. Because she does not want to marry him, he wishes to kill her, so he can at least lay hands on the money. Fanfan comes in and kills him. Flore finds the body of her uncle in the well. The French come in and announce that they have won.

Rod and string marionette

Roubaix

Handwritten outline

Farm

Well

Love

Farmer

Niece

Captain of volunteers

Traitor

Austrian

Fanfan l'orphelin

Fanfan the orphan

David is risking his life by spying for the Boers. When he learns that the English have gathered their forces outside Kimberley, he warns Louis Botha, the Boer General. Botha sends his infantry against the English. During the battle, David is captured, but the Boers free him. David shouts “Long live freedom!” as he retreats to Kimberley.

Freedom

Seat

People and history

Head of a puppet representing a Boer

Épisode de la guerre Anglo-Boers

Boer

English man

Execution scene

La Bataille de Kimberley

The Siege of Kimberley

The Prussians launch an attack on the French, who are forced to retreat on the road to Strasbourg. Desaix, a French general, comes up with a plan for a counterattack. Vaury tries to tell Guévan, a Prussian general, about the plan, but he fails to do so. The French counterattack is successful, Guévan is killed, and the Prussians are driven out. Vaury is executed for treason.

Capital executions and executors

Battle

Treason

Spying

Maurice Richard, canevas de L'Espion (1909)

L'Espion

The Spy

Christians (prince and king of Denmark) gathers his vassals and asks them to approve of his decision to marry. He has decided to propose to Églantine. She is the daughter of king Arthus of England, whom he has defeated several times. After his vassals agree, he sends his seneschal Tchantchès to Arthus to submit his proposal. Arthus rejoices at the news, but Églantine worries. She is under a spell - if the one who marries her cannot solve a riddle and save her life on the day of their wedding, she will be changed into a statue. Églantine presents the prince Christians with the riddle and he cannot solve it. On the day of the wedding, Chevalier Jasmin (Knight Jasmin), who is in love with Églantine, arrives at the castle and reproaches Églantine for betraying their love. She tries to reassure him. Then Chevalier Jasmin sees Christians, who conceals his identity and repeats the riddle presented by Églantine. Jasmin solves it, and Christians repeats the answer to Églantine. A dragon appears - only Chevalier Jasmin comes to Églantine’s aid and kills it. As Christians tries to imitate Chevalier Jasmin, he suffers a deadly fall. Arthus sends Tchantchès on the Danish camp to inform the people of Christians’ death. However, his message is misunderstood and Chevalier Guldenstern, who believes Arthus has killed Christians, sends the Danish troupes to his castle. Following the advice given by his knights, Arthus asks Jasmin to defend the drawbridge. Tchantchès offers to assist Jasmin, then Églantine joins them too. The three of them fight the Danish army and repel it. As a reward, Arthus makes Jasmin his son-in-law. He wonders at the feats the three of them achieved.

Single rod marionettes

Belgium

Liège

Wedding

Riddle

Dragon

Misunderstanding

Female warrior

Fantasy

Chant de chevalerie en quatre chapitres et quatorze actions

King Arthur

Princess

Confidente

Female companion

Knight

Tchantchès

King

Confident

Board meeting

Monologue

Apparition of a monster

Fighting a monster

Off-stage voice

Le Destin de la princesse Églantine

Princess Églantine's Destiny

Jean is worried. Night is coming and he has nowhere to sleep. Tchantchès goes looking for a place to stay the night and, to prevent Jean from getting scared of the dark, he leaves him a bottle of peket (juniper beandy). As soon as Tchantchès has left, Jean empties the bottle and falls asleep. He is awoken by the arrival of the Capitaine (Captain) who tells him that he is looking for a brave knight in order to save Princesse Isabella. Drunk, Jean accepts the challenge. The Capitaine tells him that he needs to perform three tasks. The first test is to prevail over the Chevalier Noir (Black Knight), the second one is to answer two questions asked by Lucifer, and the last one is to fight Death. Jean passes all the tests and frees the princess, who falls in love with her saviour. The King gives Jean a new name, Jean-Sans-Peur (Jean-The-Fearless), offers Jean his daugther’s hand in marriage, and invites him to the castle. Tchantchès comes back to tell Jean that he has found a place to stay for the night, but his master is gone. He learns what happened from the public.

Young audiences

Knighthood

Peket

Fear

Drunkenness

Test

Devil

Skeleton

Death

Apparition of the Devil

Apparition of Death

Address to the public

Jean le Peureux

Jean The Fearful

A human narrator, Giafar the magician, addresses the audience. One of his spirits tells him that he found the pure-hearted child Giafar was looking for. Giafar needed the child to capture the powerful genie of a magic lamp. At a marketplace, the narrator recounts the story of Scheherazade to some children. Among them was Aladdin – the pure-hearted child. Giafar pretends to be his uncle, and then leads Aladdin down into an underground cave to retrieve the magic lamp. But Aladdin does not give it to him, and so Giafar abandons him in the cave. With the help of a magic ring, Aladdin goes back to his mother’s house, bringing with him many precious stones as well as the lamp. He frees the genie, who helps him and his mother earn enough money to support themselves for years. Later, as a grown-up, the Sultan agrees to let Aladdin marry his daughter, thanks to the precious stones he found in the cave. But Giafar the magician finds out that Aladdin is still alive and that he grew rich with the help of the genie. He does everything in his power to retrieve the lamp and the genie. But in the end, Aladdin defeats Giafar. The genie seals him in the lamp and Giafar is doomed to come out only to tell the story of Aladdin to children.