Grand Guignol
Advertised as ‘a Repertoire of 12 of the Most Famous and Sensational Plays Ever Staged’.
The first two weeks at Manchester, and the first week at Birmingham, comprised PRIVATE ROOM NO 6, THE OLD WOMEN, GASPERS, SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT, ROUNDING THE TRIANGLE and SHEPHERD’S PIE. The second two weeks at Manchester, and the second week at Birmingham, featured THE HAND OF DEATH, HUSBANDS ARE SO JEALOUS, THE VIGIL, DEAD MAN’S POOL, THE SEEKER OF SENSATIONS and E. AND O.E. The Bristol week featured Programme 1 on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by Programme 2 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Cast & Crew
Cast
| Unknown | Max Adrian |
|---|---|
| Unknown | Marie Ault |
| Unknown | Anthony Blake |
| Unknown | Ernest Borrow |
| Unknown | Kathleen Boutall |
| Unknown | Franklin Dyall |
| Unknown | George Elton |
| Unknown | Mary Merrall |
Crew | |
| Director / Producer | José G Levy |
| Composer | Edwin Thornton |
- Source: University of Bristol Theatre Collection
- Last modified by Jared William.
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Play description
In a typical Grand Guignol performance patrons would see five or six short plays, all in a style that attempted to be brutally true to the theatre’s naturalistic ideals. The most popular and best-known were the horror plays, which featured a distinctly bleak world-view and gory special effects, particularly in their climaxes. The horrors depicted at the Grand Guignol were generally not supernatural; rather, these plays often explored altered states like insanity, hypnosis or panic. To heighten the effect, the horror plays were often alternated with comedies, a lineup referred to as ‘hot and cold showers’.
Observations
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