Guignol Puppets

Created in Lyon at the beginning of the nineteenth century by the former silk worker Laurent Mourguet, the character Guignol emerged from the economic upheavals that transformed the city after the French Revolution. Clever, irreverent and endlessly resourceful, he is joined by his drinking companion Gnafron, his wife Madelon and the recurring figures of the Gendarme, the Judge and the Landlord, whose encounters give comic form to questions of work, poverty, authority and justice. One Guignol appears in Ottoman dress, showing how the familiar character could readily absorb contemporary fashions and commercial fantasies. Guignol has endured because his role can always be occupied anew. Stable enough to remain recognisable, yet flexible enough to respond to changing political, social and economic realities, the character passes from one puppet, performer and generation to the next.