Die zusammengestoppelte Komödie
The Cobbled Together Comedy

A Prologue to justify the title of the Entertainment of the same name
By Johann Nestroy
Premiere: 8th August 1840

Characters
Flachkopf, an overseer
Nannette, his daughter
Christoph, son of the cook
Johann, servant
August, forester
Nebel, factotum to a travelling band of players

Scene: One large room with a door in the centre and a smaller room to the right.

All the servants are busy preparing for the arrival of their masters, and the play to be performed in their honour. Flachkopf has promised his daughter’s hand in marriage to whoever can be of most assistance to him. August is worried that Christoph will beat him to the prize. As they await the arrival of the actors by steam locomotive, Flachkopf, Christoph, August and Johann choose the play “The Twelve Sleeping Virgins” from the troupe’s repertoire. The troupe’s factotum Nebel arrives, and admits that he has had to pawn the company’s library of playscripts at the local tavern. What’s more, he is on his own, as the entire troupe has managed to miss the train. Flachkopf arranges for the actors to be fetched by coach, and for the scripts to be redeemed from the pawnbroker. Unfortunately, they have been used as fuel on the train, and only a few sheets have survived. August suggests cobbling together an ad hoc entertainment from the surviving fragments and performing it. In gratitude Flachkopf gives his daughter to August as wife.