The marionettes that Sophie Taeuber-Arp created for a 1918 production of the play King Stag have long been regarded as icons of the avant-garde. Endowed with geometric bodies and mask-like faces designed to draw out the highly strung characters they play, these dancing, prancing figures reflect the tensions of the age. They also show Taeuber-Arp leaving the naturalistic style of conventional puppet theater far behind her. Here, this illustrious ensemble is at last joined by the entertaining adaptation of King Stag by dramatists René Morax and Werner Wolff for which it was made, published in full for the first time. As in Carlo Gozzi’s Il re cervo of 1762, on which this modern version is based, the romantic entanglements, coarse bickering and brawling are sparked by King Deramo’s search for a bride. Magic also has a part to play, both in the mysterious Statue that can see into the hearts of the bridal candidates and in the king’s brief metamorphosis into a stag.
This book is also available in German.