London's Grand Guignol and the Theatre of Horror

London’s Grand Guignol—a macabre theatre of naturalistic horror—was established in the early 1920s at the Little Theatre in the West End. Taking its cue from Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol in Paris, this high-profile venture enjoyed as much critical controversy as  popular success. On its side were some of the finest actors of the English stage, such as Sybil Thorndike and Lewis Casson, as well as a team of extremely able writers, including the legendary Noël Coward. London’s Grand Guignol and the Theatre of Horror considers the importance and influence of the Grand Guignol within its social, cultural, and historical contexts, while presenting a selection of ten remarkable Grand Guignol plays, several of which were banned by the Lord Chamberlain, the censor of the day, and have never been publicly performed—including a previously unpublished work by Coward.