GUIGNOL THEATER: HISTORY, CHARACTERISTICS AND FAMOUS WORKS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The puppet theater is a show for adults and children in which stories are represented with puppets, marionettes or glove or rod figures. Their arguments are usually adaptations of classic stories, which are presented in a fun and didactic way.

It is characterized by having a mini stage that helps to mount the works and that also serves to change the sets and hide the actors who handle the characters.

The Guiñol doll, with his traditional truncheon, together with a French officer. Source: pixabay.com

The name "guignol" comes from a popular puppet that emerged in Lyon, France, in the late 18th century. It was created by Laurent Mourguet, a dentist who entertained his patients with cloth dolls that moved behind a counter.

With these skits he made them forget the pain they felt during their interventions, in times when anesthesia did not yet exist.

This figure became so popular that puppets and marionettes, which had an older origin, became known as "puppet theater" in many parts of the world, especially in Latin America.

History of the guignol theater

It is estimated that the first representations with dolls occurred about 2,000 years BC. In Ancient Egypt, wooden figures were used that were manipulated with ropes to personify religious dramas.

Later, the Greek Herodotus already mentioned articulated figures that were moved by wires in his writings of the 5th century BC. At that same time, the historian Xenophon described in his works a visit to the house of the Athenian politician Callias, who had hired a puppeteer to distract his guests.

Glove puppets themselves came into use in the Middle Ages. The performances with these dolls were made in small armed theaters, with which the actors traveled from city to city.

Already in the 15th century, when operas were born in Europe, different works were also created to be represented with puppets.

Finally, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, puppets emerged that, due to their fame and representativeness, were marked in popular culture. They were Pulcinella in Italy, Punch and Judy in England, and Guignol in France.

Guignol birth

Guignol was created in 1795 by the dentist Laurent Mourguet in the city of Lyon. He was the main character of a group of glove puppets, with whom the professional entertained his patients during their interventions, to help them mitigate pain.

Soon his performances gained fame and he began to be more in demand to perform theater functions than to pull out teeth, which made him change his profession.

In his works, Mourguet parodied the situation of the French people after the Revolution in a critical and festive tone, making young and old laugh.

The former dentist died in 1844, but his family maintained the business and continued a tradition that continues today.

Characters

These first presentations had 4 or 5 characters. The main figure was Guiñol, a simple and kind-hearted textile worker who represented humble and hard-working people.

Then there were Madelón, his wife, characterized by a headscarf; and Gnafron, a drunken shoemaker in a beret, who was his best friend. Finally, the bad guys in the story were represented by a judge and a gendarme, whom Guiñol used to chase and punish with a truncheon that he had in his hands, to the delight of the people.

Today Guiñol is considered the most popular doll in France.

Characteristics of the guignol theater

The puppet theater is a show that is characterized by telling stories with puppets, marionettes or glove or rod figures.

These figures are mounted on a mini stage, which serves both to present the sets and to hide the actors who handle the different characters.

The works are usually for audiences of all ages and the youngest tend to interact with the protagonists.

The arguments are generally simple and, although their main function is to amuse and entertain, they also include a didactic and instructive message.

Types of puppets

There are 3 major kinds of puppets: the string or puppet, the glove or cloth and the rod.

The first is usually a figure with articulated head, trunk and limbs, which are connected with threads attached to pieces of wood, which allow control of their movements. It is the oldest type of doll.

The glove or cloth is the typical puppet of the guignol theater. It usually has two small arms and a giant head. It is handled underneath the character, introducing the hand through the hole in his clothing. Thus, with the thumb and ring fingers they move their arms and with the rest the head.

Finally, the rod puppet is a mixture of the other two, since the central axis moves by introducing one hand through the body, while the arms do so by means of rods handled with the other hand.

An example of this class of dolls is the frog René (Kermit the Frog), also known as Gustavo in Spain, from Los Muppets (The Muppets).

Famous plays of the guignol theater

The plays of the guignol theater are usually adaptations of classic stories. Source: pixabay.com

In the guignol theater all kinds of works have been performed, from adaptations of classic stories to operas specially composed to be performed by puppets and marionettes.

Among the former, pieces such as The Little Prince, The 3 Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, Manuelita the Tortoise, El Ratón Pérez, The Sleeping Beauty of the Forest, The Ugly Duckling, Hansel and Gretel, The Lying Shepherd, Snow White and the seven dwarfs, Aladdin's Lamp, Ali Baba and the forty thieves, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, The gluttonous pig, The hare and the tortoise, Pinocchio, Puss in boots, The brave little tailor and The hen that lays the golden eggs.

Meanwhile, among the operas, El Altarpiece by Maese Pedro, inspired by an episode of Don Quixote, The Giant of Altzo, Chanson de Roland, The Liberated Jerusalem and The Orlando furioso stand out, the latter typical of the Italian tradition known as Opera Dei Pupi.

References:

1. Artiles, Freddy (1998). Puppets: history, theory and tradition. Barcelona, ​​Editorial Plaza y Janés. Spain.
2. Bolorino, José. The puppet theater. History. Available at: titerenet.com
3. Fiestacultura (2008). Puppets, history between strings. Magazine specialized in street theater and party. Edition number 34.
4. Théâtre La Maison de Guignol. History. Available at: lamaisondeguignol.fr
5. Guignol theater, Wikipedia. Available at: wikipedia.org