Kasperl

Kasperl, originally a comic character in a play created by the Viennese comedian J. J. La Roche around 1770, originating from the Baroque comic character of Hanswurst. The audience made the Kasperl its spokesman and loved to identify with him. After La Roche had begun to perform in the Leopoldstädter Theater in 1781 the theatre was also called "Kasperl-Theater"; the entrance fee was 34 Kreuzer and the coin of this denomination was popularly referred to as "Kasperl". In the 19^th  century the Kasperl theatre became the traditional form of Puppet Theatre. The central figure of these puppet shows was a hand-operated glove puppet representing a funny character with a rather robust sense of humour. Since the beginning of the 20^th  century the Kasperl theatre has also been used in schools and kindergartens.

Literature: G. Gugitz, Der weiland Kasperl (Johann La Roche), 1920; M. Schedler, Der K., das Kasperle, die Kasperei, in: idem, Schlachtet die blauen Elefanten, 1973; J. Hein, Das Wiener Volkstheater, 1978.