Le roi s'amuse (; literally, The King Amuses Himself or The King Has Fun) is a French play in five acts written by Victor Hugo. First performed on 22 November 1832 but banned by the government after one evening, the play was used for Giuseppe Verdi's 1851 opera Rigoletto. Cast of characters Francis I, king of France Triboulet, his jester Blanche, daughter of Triboulet Monsieur de Saint-Vallier, father of Diane de Poitiers Saltabadil, a hired assassin Maguelonne, a street player Clément Marot, royal poet Monsieur de Pienne Monsieur de Gordes Monsieur de Pardaillan Monsieur de Brion Monsieur de Montchenu Monsieur de Montmorency Monsieur de Cossé Monsieur de La Tour-Landry Madame de Cossé Dame Bérarde A Gentleman of the Queen A Valet of the King Doctor Seigneurs, Pages Common folk Synopsis The action takes place in Paris in an unspecified year in the 1520s. The first act is set during a nocturnal party at the Louvre palace; the second in the deserted cul-de-sac Bussy; the third in an antechamber of the King at the Louvre, then the fourth and fifth acts on the banks of the river Seine by the Château de la Tournelle. The hero of the play, Triboulet, is a historical character during the reigns of Louis XII and Francis I of France. Triboulet is a court jester, through whose words Hugo attacks contemporary society. The king is a profligate and a womanizer, constantly looking for new conquests. The king having set his sights on a new mistress, the Countess de Cossé, Triboulet encourages the king to kill her husband. Triboulet is despised by the courtiers, who plot to abduct the young woman living with him whom they assume to be his mistress. Suddenly the Comte de Saint-Vallier—whose daughter, Diane de Poitiers, had been seduced by the king—appears to demand compensation. The king and Triboulet mock him, upon which the aristocrat curses them. Returning home, Triboulet cannot put the curse out of his mind. He meets a stranger on the street, Saltabadil, who offers his services to right the jester's wrongs. Triboulet declines and goes back to the house where he conceals from the world his daughter Blanche. Knowing the character of the king and the nobility, he wants to protect her from seduction and only lets her out to attend mass. Blanche is pleased to receive a visit from her father but does not tell him that she