The Grand Guignol (pronounced gran geen yohl) was to 19th-Century theatre what Law and Order, CSI and Bones are to you. In the 1800s theatre took the place of webisodes, TV, film and books as not everyone could read in those days. Today, competing for your time and attention from all these 21st-Century entertainments, comes a renegade theatre company that thinks you’ll like Theatre of the Grand Guignol as much as your ancestors did.
So, what is the Grand Guignol? Anne Rice fans will remember the Vampire Lestat stumbling upon the Théâtre des Vampires and a gothic Antonio Banderas as the Guignol-esque troupe’s leader. DangerHouse, like the French theatre that was popular from 1897-1962, will present an evening of three short plays, two scary and one sexy, October 22-November 7 at Queen Bee's in North Park.
DangerHouse Productions came onto the San Diego Theatre scene in 2007 with an evening of Grand Guignol plays, in association with Chronos theatre company, at the prestigious Neurosciences Institute. That evening of blood, gore, cheating spouses and violent revenge was a first on that stage, which usually features lectures on brain chemistry and not actual brains. But is it relevant?
Miranda Halverson (aka Danger Daisy), who directs one of the three short plays, thinks so. “When there is violence abroad affecting our population, the nation turns to more ordered, regulated violence closer to home – as an outlet, and maybe an analgesic. Horror will always be modern because what is more relevant than human suffering and the misery we can cause each other if we so choose?”
OK, relevant but will people like it? Halverson thinks they will. “My favorite part of the evening's experience is the contrast of the bloody dramas (Final Kiss and The Torture Garden) with the utterly ridiculous sex farce (Tics, or Doing the Deed) smack in the middle. Grand Guignol performances would heighten the feelings of dread by cleansing the palette between courses with a light, airy comedy…” This is what the theatre’s management called the Hot and Cold Shower.
The Grand Guignol defined the Theatre of Horror genre and was even involved in early silent horror films. The theatre style borrowed from the late 19th- and early 20th-century realism and melodrama movements and took them one uncomfortable step further. There was even an in-house physician to aid audience members who couldn’t take the scary and gory stuff. Everything added to an uncomfortable feeling for theatergoers from the theatre’s location (in the Red Light District) to the theatre itself (a de-sanctified church), to the style of acting, the plays themselves and the artistry of the technicians.
It was a time before sound and color in horror films so we can’t be sure if people really fainted or took sick but it’s a pretty good guess that they had some willies scared out of themselves. While earlier audiences may or may not have asked, “Is there a Doctor in the house?” San Diego audiences will have no such luck – no in-house doctor will attend the crowd at Queen Bee’s.
That’s not to say that there won’t be blood, gore, adult situations and stage combat. In fact DangerHouse Productions suggests that mature teens and older come to the performances. Says DangerHouse founder Marie Miller (aka Danger Domino): “There was a really fun question on the audition form: ‘Do you have any aversion to killing, maiming or dying on stage?’ I think that sets the tone from the beginning. But everyone who is in such a roles is actually pretty pumped about the horror they cause or receive. I sure hope audiences are frightened, amused, then terrified. In the past, we have given people nightmares, no one passed out in fright, but you never know.”
The plays (and their titles) are translations that can be found in Grand-Guignol The French Theatre of Horror by Richard J. Hand and Michael Wilson. All are from the Grand Guignol’s heyday immediately preceding and following the First World War. They are:
Final Kiss (1912)-A man, Henrí, whose fiancé has horribly disfigured him by throwing sulfuric acid on his face, decides to exact terrible revenge. Directed by Danger Domino.
Tics, or Doing the Deed (1908)-A lusty romp where unabashed titillation meets uncontrollable urges. Directed by Danger Daisy.
The Torture Garden (1922)- Helpless fascination with vicarious sadomasochistic bloodplay eventually becomes all too personal, bringing Clara's trip through China to a horrifying conclusion. Directed by Danger Domino.
Starring
Damion Nowak, Justine Hince, Gregory Batty, Teale Bossen, Brian Burke, Javier Guerrero, Carla Navarro, Alfred Navato, Adam Freeman, Miranda Halverson, Mina Chuong, and Mary Cherwink. Fight Choreography by Rhys Greene.
Show times
Oct 22, 23, 28, 29 at 7:00 p.m., and Oct 30, 31, Nov 6, 7 at 2:00 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes before show time. There will be live music after the first four performances, a special Halloween matinee and a Zombie Fashion Show.
Location
Queen Bee's, 3925 Ohio Street, 92104, in North Park
For more information or tickets
Website: www.DangerHouse13.com
Email: [email protected]
Call: 619-663-5652
Danger Monikers
DangerHouse is an actual dwelling in La Mesa, California occupied by artists, musicians, actors and containing rickety shelves in the bedroom closets, hence the name. Miller, Halverson and a number of the DangerHouse inner circle have chosen (or been given) what they call “Danger Names.” That is the word “Danger” followed by another D-word. Miller is Danger Domino and Halvorson is Danger Daisy. Is that a clever way to not take themselves too seriously or a way for otherwise respectable theatre professionals to remain anonymous? Either way, Domino and Daisy have been duped into divulging their denominators and this writer lives in horror! Those prop weapons look very realistic…
More history can be found at http://www.grandguignol.com/history.htm
