Theater Guignol Anatole - Puppets Buttes Chaumont

The Theater Guignol Anatole carries a history that reaches back to eighteen thirty-six. Originally established on the Champs Elysees, this mobile puppet theater found its permanent home within the lush surroundings of the Parc des Buttes Chaumont in nineteen oh-three. It remains a rare, enduring example of the open-air puppet stages that once dotted the parks of Paris. The theater is named after Anatole Cressigny, a nineteenth-century puppeteer who worked in the tradition of Guignol. Guignol itself originated in Lyon around eighteen oh-eight, created by a silk worker who used puppets to distract patients while he performed rudimentary dentistry. These puppets evolved into biting social satirists that spoke for the working class, often mocking the authorities and the wealthy. At this theater, the tradition survives as a live performance where the puppets interact directly with the children in the audience, who are encouraged to shout warnings and answer questions during the unfolding drama.