Mon Premier Guignol - Le Théâtre La Maison De Guignol, Lyon

At SALLE 2 - THEATRE MAISON DE GUIGNOL: Welcoming Mon Premier Guignol

As the team behind SALLE 2 - THEATRE MAISON DE GUIGNOL, we are thrilled to open our doors to Mon Premier Guignol, a luminous introduction to Lyon’s most beloved puppet and a landmark of popular theatre. Our intimate black-box space is designed for proximity: sightlines are crisp, the stage is close, and every laugh, gasp, and whisper carries naturally, allowing young audiences and families to feel the craft of the puppeteers at work. The handcrafted sets, precise lighting cues, and live sound punctuations come together here to celebrate the rhythms of Guignol’s spirited repartee. From the first rise of the curtain, this production invites first-time theatregoers to discover the pulse of a living tradition, while offering seasoned spectators the pleasure of recognizing the familiar silhouettes and gestures that have animated Lyon’s cultural life for generations. In SALLE 2, the experience is communal and playful: children are encouraged to respond, adults to rediscover their inner child, and everyone to join in the quick wit and gentle mischief that make Guignol timeless.

The artistry behind Mon Premier Guignol

Mon Premier Guignol is conceived as a true “first encounter,” attentive to the attention spans, curiosity, and sense of wonder of younger spectators without sacrificing the finesse that aficionados expect. In our house, the production leans into Guignol’s signature blend of slapstick and social satire, clear storytelling, and musical touches that keep the energy buoyant. The language is bright and rhythmic, suffused with Lyonnais color, and the puppeteers’ timing invites call-and-response moments that make the audience an accomplice in the adventure. While every performance remains anchored in tradition, the show’s pace and the responsive playfulness of the manipulation allow the artists to listen to the room and shape transitions with a light hand—one of the secrets of Guignol’s enduring vitality. Expect the emblematic hero’s courage and cheekiness to meet everyday dilemmas, small injustices to be righted with panache, and friendship to emerge as the quiet engine of each scene. The result is an experience that feels both classic and freshly minted, ideal for a child’s first memory of theatre at SALLE 2 - THEATRE MAISON DE GUIGNOL.

Hosting Mon Premier Guignol this season aligns with our broader artistic momentum: championing high-quality puppetry that respects heritage while embracing contemporary sensibilities. The Maison de Guignol troupe continues to refine its scenic language—cleaner lines, nimble transitions, and vivid character work that foregrounds the puppeteers’ virtuosity—so that families encounter stories that are as clear as they are captivating. In our ongoing programming, we celebrate the living repertoire that surrounds this production, where beloved episodes and lively vignettes often reappear in refreshed stagings, allowing newcomers to recognize the archetypes they will meet again and again in Lyon’s cultural landscape. Audiences who cherish the canon may hear echoes of classic encounters with a gendarme’s bluster, a clever market vendor, or a loyal friend with a taste for good humor, refracted here into a format tailor-made for discovery. Above all, our work in SALLE 2 revolves around hospitality: welcoming children with thoughtful pacing and inviting parents to share in the laughter, so that Mon Premier Guignol becomes not only a performance but a joyful rite of passage into theatre in Lyon.