The history of Guignol
Par Anastasia, vendredi 26 février 2010 à 14:56 :: Les cours de français
Guignol is a french marionette created in Lyon by Laurent Mourguet. Since its creation in 1808, Guignol has become a symbol of the town Lyon. However, in the beginning, Guignol were entirely practical. Laurent Mourguet was one of the many silk workers made unemployed by the Revolution. He started working as a dentist, pulling teeth at county fairs, and to lure in the crowds he came up with the idea of a puppet show. The main character was Gnafron, a boisterous drunkard , and Guignol was his friend, engaged to Gnafron’s daughter. Created for adults – some of the early plays had some pretty strident political satire, and were censored. Eventually the puppets became “true” child’s play, with Guignol as the hero.

Guignol belongs to the second generation of marionettes: his ancestors are the Italian Pulchinello and the English Punch and Judy. You can see them in the Gadagne Museum in Lyon amongst 2000 other marionettes from all over the world. To learn more about Guignol you can visit the museum and theater “La Maison de Guignol“, in the old part of Lyon. There you can also see spectacles for adults.
To get information about the school, you can connect to the website of the French school Inflexyon and to the forum of the French courses.
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