The play dealt with current events – the French conquest in Madagascar at the end of the 19th century. In 1895, in an expedition ordered by General Duchesne, Tananarive – the capital – was taken and Queen Ranavalo III was forced to surrender and accept the French protectorate The island rebelled in September 1896, but the insurrection was defeated at the beginning of 1897 by General Gallieni, who abolished the monarchy, forced the Queen into exile and led the repression.

Les Aventures de Guignol et Gnafron à Tananarive was Tony Tardy’s first Guignol play for the Théâtre de Guignol du Passage de l’Argue in Lyon. The play was a success and Tardy left for Saint-Etienne, where he began writing for Denis Valentin’s Théâtre Guignol. The following year, he wrote another version of the play for this theatre. He intitled it Voyage de Guignol et Gnafron à Madagascar, probably in order to avoid any conflict with Marius Lamadon, the director of the Guignol du Passage de l’Argue in Lyon, who owned the rights to the original manuscript. Several but minor modifications were made to the play—the plot remained unchanged. This version is now kept in the Institut International de la Marionnette in Charleville-Mézières: https://lelab.artsdelamarionnette.eu/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=65499

Gnafron is crippled with debts and flees to Madagascar with Guignol, but they board on a military ship and are forced to become soldiers. When they land in Madagascar, Gnafron is kidnapped by the Hovas, who believe him to be a general. They take him to their queen. Their own general having been captured by the French, they want Gnafron to replace him.

Guignol goes to Gnafron’s rescue. He enters the capital and tells the Queen that the French army is approaching. She agrees to surrender because she has fallen in love with Guignol. To avoid the watchful eye of the Prime Minister – who happens to be her husband – she meets Guignol in the main square of the town. There, the soldiers are training under the lead of the new general, who will be in a position to help them because he is French.

Guignol therefore finds Gnafron. He lets him on his plan to seduce the queen and conquer the island. Gnafron agrees to help him. When he sees the Prime Minister approaching, he warns Guignol and the Queen.

The Prime Minister tries to trigger a rebellion against the colonisers. He captures Guignol and plans to execute him. To save time and to free Guignol, the Queen postpones the execution to the following day. The French army walks into town. The Prime Minister asks the Hovas to fight for him. But as they are led by Gnafron, they attack the Prime Minister instead, and he flees.

The Queen is freed. Guignol becomes Prime Minister; Gnafron marries Madame Dumont, who is expecting a child from a Hova man; and the French general announces that the mission was a success.