The Washington herald., 1908-01-19

At the end of a badly lighted and worse
paved alley leading out of a Montmartre
street is one of the most curious theaters
IN Paris, ana perhaps in the world. It
announces itself by an illuminated sign
projecting into the street. and when you
have groped and stumbled your way to
the door you are at first inclined to treat
the concern as joke The Theatre du
Grand GulgnoP' means. If you take it
literally, a big Punch-and-Judy show.
This is part Of the joke, for the perform
ances are certainly not intended for the
young. And yet to appreciate the Grand
GugR0l, II is wise TO become, for the mo-
ment. az any rate. as youthful as pOssi-
be, for the Grand. Guignol appeals 20 the
primitive emotions, and if YOU cannot un-
derstand why children laugh and weep SO
readily you had better go elsewhere for
your entertainment The Grand Gugnol.
with all the self-depTeciation Of its title,
Is a place TO. which people go expecting
10 be horrided and amused TO have cold
shivers down the spine, and TO laugh
heartily between whiles. and above ali.
not to blush; for this Montmartre Mr.
Punch is q licensed jester and discusses
subjects seldom mentioned in polite So
ciety.
The fare provided is in tabloid form.
very strongly favored. The bill contains
at least five and often six plays. usually
consisting of not more than two scenes
apiece. There is no attempt at scenic dis
play, in fact, the stage sitting is. not to
put too fine a point upon it. taWdry. and
the costumes do not look as if they came
from the Rue de Ia Paix The theater
holds barely 200 people. and is SO small
that every one is near the stage This
seems 20 have been thought good ground
for not trying 10 produce any illusions by
means OF scenery or makeup, People who
come 10 be fed on strong meat need not
be TOO particular about The plates in
which il is served.
BeEan Life in 1900.
The Grand Guignol began life as a side
show of the Paris Exposition in 1900 NJ.
Max Maurey. who started and still runs
IL, acted on the principle that people who
went 10 the exposition for an evenings
amusement would be tempted by thea
ter only if the plays We're short and vivid.
He decided TO work two well-defined veins
the horrible and the humorouS-and he
did So with SO much success that the
Grand Guiguol has remained a perma-
nent feature Of Paris theaterland. In
tn N years of its existence the Grand
has brought out nearly 200 new
of all kinds. from mere curtain
20 bloOd-freezing twO-act TRACE
None OF the great names among
playWrights are on the list. but
OF clever work has been done by
nen as Octave Mirbeau. Aurelien
Oscar Metenier. Claude Roland
T. inoW director of the TEeater An
,..-i Henri Lavendau, Georges Courte-
line, ChaIles Foley, Max Maurev himself
and many rising writer's.
The great feature has aIwavs been
realism carried 10 limits approached bv
no other theater Nothing is thougbr too
appalling, if only il gives the REQUIRED
thrill In one play, "Deniere Torture. "
the audience was treated 70 the sight Of
French soldier VINO was supposed 10
have been impaled by Boxers. after hay
ing had lis eyelids and hands cut of.
The dying struggles OF half a dozen men
IN submarine which has sunk 20 the
bottom of the ocean. and the guillotiniug
OF man by accident are among other
che rful subjects which have been served
up. Of course, there is no literary merit
worth mentioning ID these plays; the
spectacle IS the thing, and it does not
require much art 20 put Iurid newspaper
story into two short acts The Grand
GuiguOls humorous pieces are of a higher.
order Their dialogue is usually rich in
the paradoEical and ironicaI wit wherein
French humorists delight
Inside Is Very Quaint.
The inside Of the theater is very quaint
It has high oak roof which would not
look at all out Of place in a church. The
front of the balcony is carved in a way
that vaguely suggests choir stalls, and
garsoyles project from it. The doors also
are of dark wood and are copied from
fifteenth century patterns. This kind Of
thing might be thought incongruous in
any ordinary theater, but here it seems
10 add "a piquant flavor to the perform
Gnce. On the floor of the house. back
of half @ dozen rows of comfortable
stalls. are five private boxes shut off
by movable tTellis-woTk screens. For
people who want to see the performance
without being seen, these retreats are
highly convenient There are circum-
stances under which even the most gor-
ge0usly dressed society woman would
prefer TO pass unobserved, and foreign
sOVeTaLgHs visiting Paris, who are Off
cialiy supposed 10 be spending "a quiet
evening indoors, sometimes find their way
behind these friendly Grand Guignol
screens without the public being the
wiser
THE System Of DIR. Goudron and Prof.
Plume adapted from a story of Edgar
Allan Poe, by NJ Andre De LOrde. is a
typical Grand GuignoI play of the cold
shiver-down- -the-spine order. Two report
eTs come TO an asylum TO interview the
medical superintendent. Dr. GOudrOn. on
his method There is no one to announce
them. and they are rather surprised TO
find the doctors study empty After
while a man of severe aspect, in the
regulation medical fTOCk coat comes in.
introduces himself as DR.. GOudron, and
begins 10 answer their questions. The in
terview is interrupted by blood-curdling
groans from an adjoining room The doc
tor goes out and returns in "a few minutes,
mentioning that he has had to calm a
Taving madman. A venerable-lO looking
gentleman. whom the doctor introduces
as his collaboration, Prof. Plume, comes
ia, followed by another man and two
women, who join in the conversation and
laugh Historically from time to time.
Talk BECOMES IncOherent.
The talk gradually becomes more and
more incoherent. and the two reporters
more and more uneasy. Suddenly therel
is a vivid flash of lightning out of the