Guignol Et Le Concours De Coups De Bâton - Théâtre La Maison De Guignol, Lyon

A festive invitation from THEATRE LA MAISON DE GUIGNOL

At THEATRE LA MAISON DE GUIGNOL, we are delighted to welcome audiences for a joyous new chapter in our living Lyonnais tradition with Guignol et le concours de coups de baton. Our stage—intimate, lively, and made for the precise gestures of glove puppetry—was built for the quick wit, rhythmic knockabout, and tender humanity that Guignol embodies. From families discovering the character for the first time to lifelong devotees of the canut with the fast tongue and faster baton, this performance is crafted to bring the room together in laughter and complicity. You will find the customary hand-painted flats, the nimble entrances and exits that create a sense of bustling street life, and the musical punctuation that accentuates every tease, tumble, and triumphant twist. Our team cherishes the craft: the cadence of the Lyon dialect, the timing between a question from the stage and a thunderous answer from the seats, and the tactile reality of wood, cloth, and leather that makes each scene feel handmade in the best sense. With Guignol et le concours de coups de baton, we renew a promise: that heritage is most alive when it is shared in the present tense, here and now, in the flicker of footlights and the laughter of the crowd.

About Guignol et le concours de coups de baton

In this new adventure, our beloved troublemaker faces a most mischievous proposition: a “contest” of sticks, where bluster and bravado collide with quick thinking and fair play. As the plot unwinds on the boards of THEATRE LA MAISON DE GUIGNOL, friends and foils of the repertoire weave in with lively repartee, and Guignol’s sense of justice sparks the action forward. Expect the crisp clack of well-choreographed slapstick (by name and by nature), a cascade of reversible fortunes, and the ever-joyful call-and-response that lets children shout warnings while adults catch the sly asides. The scenography keeps the pace nimble, shifting from marketplace bustle to a corner of the quartier where the competition gets hilariously out of hand. Without betraying the surprises we’ve tucked into the staging, we can say that the “concours” is less about who strikes hardest and more about who thinks fastest—Guignol’s specialty. Our puppeteers work close to the audience, letting every flourish be seen and every beat be heard, ensuring the humor lands with clarity. The baton is a prop of comedy, not cruelty; the laughter springs from invention, timing, and the triumph of cleverness over bluster—classic Guignol virtues shaped for today’s spectators.

This season at THEATRE LA MAISON DE GUIGNOL, our company continues to deepen its artistic momentum with fresh scripts alongside cherished repertory, adding new inflections of language, rhythm, and visual play that honor tradition while speaking to contemporary life in Lyon. We have been refining the physical vocabulary of our baton sequences to highlight musicality as much as impact, threading percussion-like patterns through the action so that even the quiet beats feel alive. Education and transmission remain central to our mission: family-friendly performances encourage the youngest voices to answer back, and daytime sessions welcome school groups eager to glimpse the magic behind the booth and the finesse of glove-puppet manipulation. Craft is our cornerstone. From the carpentry of sets to the tailoring of costumes, every element is tuned to clarity and charm, allowing Guignol et le concours de coups de baton to play with crisp comic sense and warm humanity. We are also extending our exchange with local creators—writers, artisans, and musicians whose sensibilities complement our own—so that each show resonates beyond the stage. Whether you come for the legendary hero, the quickfire comedy, or the pleasure of live performance shared in a room built for it, this new production reflects our enduring belief: Guignol belongs to everyone who laughs with him.