From Library Journal
From 1897 to 1962 the Grand Guignol Theatre in Paris attracted a fervent following of assorted spectators who either exorcized unspeakable impulses or exulted in the unspeakable crimes. Gordon has preserved this institution, which influenced both vanguard and boulevard drama, for theater history. He situates the phenomenon in turn-of-the-century naturalism and carefully records its dramatis personae and policies. He includes summaries of 100 plots, and with the help of Jeff Casper has translated three plays by the "Prince of Terror," Andre de Lorde. The book is also a treasury of stills, posters, and other theater memorabilia. Indispensable for theater history collections. Marilyn Gaddis Rose, SUNY at Binghamton
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Kurzbeschreibung
From its beginnings in turn-of-the-century Paris and throughout its sixty-year reign of terror, the Theatre of the Grand Guignol gleefully celebrated horror and fear. Innocent victims, mangled beauty, insanity, mutilation, depravity, and guilt were its primary themes. By dissecting primal taboos in an unprecedentedly graphic manner, it became the progenitor of all the blood-spilling, eye-gouging, and limb-hacking "splatter" movies of today. This first English-language book on Grand Guignol examines its history, themes, and methods; summarizes its plots; provides the texts of two typical plays; and illustrates it with close to 100 pictures.
