All Lyonnais have a story to tell about the Guignol. There are those who went to see him at the Parc de la Tête d’or and those who went to see him in the castelet on the quays of the Saône. Emma Utgès is one of those whose memory leads to the Park. If today, she is inexhaustible on the subject, through reading, research and practice, it took her time to understand what connected her to the puppet. It’s a photo from childhood that brings memories to the surface. “I had a puppet theater where I played Little Red Riding Hood.”
It was not until her twenties that she finally opened the doors of Guignol de Lyon. “I was able to attend a performance backstage, behind the puppet theater. I didn’t leave.” The glove puppet, the one where the hand enters inside, where the thumb moves an arm, the index and middle fingers move it head, the ring and little fingers, the other arm. It’s a whole. Emma doesn’t hesitate to talk about magic. “There is the actor and his extension at the end of the arm. Sometimes we look for his character. There is a relationship of trust. Because there are two of us.” Poetry of the artist.
But Emma’s meeting with Guignol goes beyond that. “He’s a social and political character. He points out the dysfunctions of society. And it always works. However, he has an impossible face, clothes that don’t move, a braid.” Let it be said, Guignol is not the first puppet born from his creator in 1808. It is Gnafron and his red nose. We look curiously at all the puppets which hang on the wall behind the castle, with their heads made of lime wood. “There are also some in oak.” Some are over 100 years old. You also have to be aware of the weight. “Up to 800 grams!” You then have to imagine the actor carrying it at arm’s length during the 45-minute performance. A feat.
The Le Guignol Theater in Lyon is also, ici.
