London's Grand Guignol and the Theatre of Horror

This is a companion to UEP's "Grand-Guignol: The French Theatre of Horror" (now in its third reprint). A genre that "has left more of a mark on British and American culture than we may imagine" (Gothic Studies). London's Grand Guignol was established in the early 1920s at the Little Theatre in the West End. It was a high-profile venture that enjoyed popular success as much as critical controversy. On its side were some of the finest actors on the English stage, in the shape of Sybil Thorndike and Lewis Casson, and a team of extremely able writers, including Noel Coward. The reviewer in the journal Gothic Studies wrote, of the authors' previous book: "having recently taught a module on Grand Guignol with third year drama students, it is also worth noting that this book captured their imaginations in a way that few other set texts seem to manage." "The words 'Grand Guignol' have entered the English language as a description of any display of sensational horror...innocence [dragged] kicking and screaming into the realm of experience." ("TLS", January 2003). This work outlines the history of London's Grand Guignol in the context of the inter-war British theatre. It contains a representative selection of play scripts, a number of which were banned by the censor and so never reached the public stage in Britain; and includes the text of a previously unpublished play by Noel Coward.