London’s Grand Guignol and the Theatre of Horror

Title: London's Grand Guignol and the Theatre of Horror
Author: Hand, Richard J.
Price: $43.95

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which were banned by the censor and so never reached the public stage in Britain; and includes the text of a previously unpublished play by Noel Coward.


CONTENTS
SECTION 1;
Chapter 1: A History of London's Grand Guignol;
Chapter 2: London's Grand Guignol and Issues of Genre and Writing;
Chapter 3: London's Grand Guignol: Performers and Performing;
Chapter 4: London's Grand Guignol: Censorship and Reception;
Chapter 5: London's Grand Guignol and the Reviewers;
Chapter 6: The Aftermath and Legacy of London's Grand Guignol;

SECTION 2;
Ten Plays of London's Grand Guignol;
Eight O'Clock by Reginald Berkeley;
A Man in Mary's Room by Gladys Unger;
Private Room Number 6 by Andre de Lorde;
The Person Unknown by H. F. Maltby;
Latitude 15[degrees] South by Victor MacClure;
The Old Women by Christopher Holland;
The Nutcracker Suite by Eliot Crawshay-Williams;
The Sisters' Tragedy by Richard Hughes;
The Better Half by Noel Coward;
I Want To Go Home by H. F. Maltby;

APPENDICES;
Appendix 1 London's Grand Guignol, 1920-22;
Appendix 2 The Complete Repertoire of London's Grand Guignol, 1920-22;
Appendix 3 Extract from Oh, Hell!!! A 'Revuette' by Reginald Arkell and Russell Thorndike;

Bibliography.


Prizes: Shortlisted for Theatre Book Prize 2007.


AUTHOR
Richard J. Hand is Professor of Drama at the Cardiff School of Creative and Cultural Industries, University of Glamorgan. Michael Wilson is Dean of the School of Media and Performance at University College, Falmouth. Together they have delivered workshops on Grand Guignol, and presented Grand Guignol performances at universities, international conferences and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Publication date: 01/11/2007
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780859897921
Publishing status: Last copy available