Der grüne Kakadu

Der grüne Kakadu is a one act grotesque by Arthur Schnitzler. It was written in 1898 and premiered on 1 March 1899, together with his plays Paracelsus and Die Gefährtin, at the Vienna Burgtheater. The play thematises the indistinguishability of truth and lies, of appearance and reality.

Der grüne Kakadu
Title page of the first edition.
Date premiered	1 March 1899
Setting	Paris, France, 1789

Characters

• Emile Duke of Cadignan
• François Viscount de Nogeant
• Albin Chevalier de la Tremouille
• The Marquis of Lansac
• Séverine, his wife
• Rollin, poet
• Prospère, host, former theatre director
• His troupe: Henri, Balthasar, Guillaume, Scaevola, Jules, Etienne, Maurice, Georgette, Michette, Flipotte
• Léocadie, actress, Henri's wife
• Grasset, philosopher
• Lebrêt, tailor
• Grain, a thug
• The Commissary
• Noblemen, actors, actresses
• Burghers and burgesses

Scene from Der grüne Kakadu at the Renaissance-Theater Berlin, 1945

Plot

Paris 1789: Prospère, a former theatre director, runs a dive called "The Green Cockatoo". Many unsuccessful actors, Prospère's former employees, are regulars. But the tavern is also frequented by aristocrats. They hope to get the pleasant thrill of being among real street hustlers and other riffraff. So the actors play criminals. They brag to each other about their violent deeds. On 14 July, the day the French Revolution broke out, the real turmoil of the street now enters the scene. Reality and play intermingle, and for the noble spectators as well as for the actors it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish roles from real people and play from truth.

Adaptations

• Der grüne Kakadu, an opera by composer Richard Mohaupt which premiered on 16 September 1958.
• Der grüne Kakadu, a 1963 film by Austrian director Michael Kehlmann.