Melissa Bair
Andy Batt
Adrian Brown
Chris Lane
Jeff Potts
Wray Withers
Directed by Andy Batt
227 North 3rd Street | Columbus, OH 43215 | 614.221.5418
December, 2002
all shows at 8pm
Thursdays-Saturdays
$8-$15 regular admission
$6 students/seniors
Emile Zola claimed that art’s only true subject was the grimly realistic representation of ‘real life’. And thus, so began the naturalistic tradition of THE GRAND GUIGNOL. THE GRAND GUIGNOL is violent, bloody theatre. Originally running from 1897 to 1962 in Paris, France, THE GRAND GUIGNOL quickly gained a reputation for over the top bloodletting and gore. Routinely the audience fainted due to its gruesome and psychological thrills. The actors measured their success by the number of people who fainted every night. For a ‘hot and cold’ effect, theatre nights typically included campy comedy pieces interspersed with tragedy to keep the audience on their toes. By 1910, the theatre, originally a chapel, had become the best known tourist attraction after the Eiffel Tower. During its run, its patrons included the King of Greece, the Princess of Holland, and Ho Chi Minh, then a political refugee.
MadLab’s THE GRAND GUIGNOL 2002 featured VELNAI by Greg McGill, CIRCUS PLAY by Bruce Cohen, HILLJACK by Steve O’Neill, I MISS YOU by Adrian Brown, MARIONETTE by Scott Lambridis and DEAD GIRL by Chris Lane.