Don Juan

In the dilapidated theater, human-sized marionettes perform a Don Juan legend without the aid of puppeteers or an audience. The automated stage clatters and hums in the darkness, creating a haunting mood. The scene establishes a puppet-dominated world where events unfold on and off the stage.

Don Juan watches Maria secretly meeting Philippe from a balcony, fueling his jealousy. He sees their closeness and realizes his hold over Maria is slipping. The moment sparks the scheme that will drive the rest of the plot.

To secure funds for his schemes, Don Juan sends the Jester into town to ask the Mayor for money under the pretense that Juan needs it to pay medical bills. The ruse exposes the web of deceit surrounding the lovers. The encounter with authority introduces manipulation as a running theme.

Juan's father, Don Vespis, learns of his son's true intention and reluctantly gives the Jester two coins to buy rope for a grim end. The gesture reveals the family's complicity in a deadly plan. It foreshadows the violence that will erupt soon.

Enraged by the revelation, Don Juan murders his father backstage. He then heads toward the garden where Maria and Philippe were planning to meet. The act marks a point of no return for Juan and accelerates the tragedy.

Maria arrives in the garden to find Don Juan waiting instead of Philippe, and she is shocked by his presence. She demands that he return her love or face consequences, while Juan's ominous pursuit begins. The confrontation exposes the fragility of their relationships and Juan's menace.

In a brutal confrontation, Don Juan dispatches Maria's father, Don Vespis, by cutting his face off as he lies dying. The act solidifies Juan's fearsome reputation and cements Maria's fear of him. The tragedy foreshadows the deeper doom awaiting the lovers.

Philippe discovers Maria mourning her father and swears to avenge them both. He tracks down Don Juan, and the two engage in a brutal duel. The fight ends with Philippe dead, sealing the lovers' doomed fate.

The Jester arrives to tell Don Juan that there is a spectral man who wants to speak with him in the cemetery. The man turns out to be Maria's dead father, warning that Juan's soul will be dragged to Hell at midnight. The supernatural admonition escalates the stakes for Juan.

Juan's physical body collapses into an open grave, while his spirit is lowered into a trapdoor. Instead of being dragged to Hell, the lifeless puppet slides into a hidden compartment beneath the stage. The scene mirrors Juan's moral descent and the fate of the puppet body.

The Jester muses on how he will be paid now that his master is dead, underscoring the mercenary world of the puppets. The question hints at the economic logic that governs their schemes. The moment leaves the Jester's future ambiguous within the broken world of the theater.

In keeping with traditional Czech puppet plays, Don Juan's story ends with a moral: he urges children not to commit evil deeds like him. The marionettes deliver this didactic message as the curtain falls. The tale closes with a clear caution about the consequences of vice.