GREETING FELLOW FIENDS!
My wife, Kara, and I spent many years of our lives entrenched and engrossed in Grand Guignol theater. ([GRON] + [GHEE] + [NYOL]. We cut our teeth on the infamous Hypnodrome Stage in San Francisco, the home of horror theater for more than a decade. We had the time of our lives (and many many deaths). But that time, like the flesh and blood of all living things, had to come to an end, and so it did about 10 years ago. But as we always knew it would be (and one of the many reasons we moved to Las Vegas), we are destined to be the conduits of revival for this once revered and feared form of horror theater.
The Grand Guignol theatre of Paris was once the most popular theatre in the entire country. At the end of the 19th century and into the 20th, and for over seven decades, they painted the stage red and created a template for modern horror. Their mix of terror, comedy, and titillation has been copied in every form of horror media. Today, horror fandom has grown into a close-knit worldwide community that celebrates myriad books, films, and videogames. Yet few are aware of our roots on the stage. The Scarlette Stage is a new experiment in vintage horror!!
HISTORY OR HORROR:
The Grand Guignol started in 1897 as an experiment in naturalism. They shunned bourgeois and regal characters for criminals and the lower classes. In some cases with horror, in some with sympathy, but always with a goal toward objective realism. Naturalistic one-act plays of the time were “slice of life.” It soon became clear that their most successful pieces were the bloodiest. They steered their naturalism toward horrific scenes that maintained an air of credibility. “Slice of life” had become “slice of death.”
In a move that would become prescient of the methods of modern horror, they alternated their terror pieces with comedies. Many of which were titillating sex-farces to warm the audience up before their next round of chills. This method became known as the “hot and cold” or “Scottish” shower. It would be their primary method for the duration of the theatre.
There are many opinions as to why the Grand Guignol was closed. A common one is that the real life horrors of war made the blood on the stage less palatable to the public. This was around the “Indochine” wars between French occupiers and Vietnamese independents, what Jean-Paul Sartre called the “dirty war.” Of course, being the 1960’s, the rise of film and television had an impact on stage attendance of all categories. The rise of Existentialist thought and progressive politics cast a harsh light on the racism and sexism of some of their material.
But reincarnation is possible my friends, and we’re here to prove it. We are throwing out the racism and chauvinism of the theatre's lesser offerings, and saving the brilliance of the format. New terror plays and modern adaptations are being written with an eye toward the present understanding of the society we live in today. Far from being a hindrance, it is a beautiful opportunity to shine lights into our own dark corners. We have learned much in the sixty years since the original Grand Guignol closed its doors. And in that new understanding we discover that there is still much to be feared.
JOIN US... if you dare.
We want you to join us in making this dream come back. Shock and titillation get a bad name in the art world. We believe there is no art without it. We would be honored to show your name amongst those who lend their support to an artform that is not afraid to shock its audience to its primal core!
Even if you cannot purchase one of our perks, all backers who support us hold a place in our hearts. Thank you so much !!!
