Theatre du Grand-Guignol: Tales of Horror and Fear October 14, 2010

Theatre du Grand-Guignol: Tales of Horror and Fear

Produced By Richard Mazda for The Queens Players Directed by Ariel Francoeur
Assistant Director/Stage Manager Margaret Baker
Makeup Design by Jeni Ahlfeld, Fight Choreography Teddy Lytle
Photography by Sean MacBride Murray, Postcard Design by Dan Smith

Tickets $15 Adv $18 Door
Available online www.thequeensplayers.com Reservations/Inquiries 718 392 0722
An approved Actors Equity Showcase

Intense drama and horror, a bit of sexy sacrifice, riotous laughter, and a healthy smattering of good old fashioned Parisian gore hit Long Island City just in time for Halloween. Theatre du Grand-Guignol: Tales of Horror and Fear directed by Ariel Francoeur takes us back in time to Paris in 1910, where the working class, bohemians, and even royalty braved the labyrinthine streets of the Montmartre district, passed questionable establishments, dark alleyways, and abandoned churches, to the most talked about theater in Europe: Theatre du Grand-Guignol. What they were about to experience was a series of short plays, alternating between drama, comedy, scandalous sex farce, and horror, flush with blood and gore. At the Secret Theater, we will resurrect a typical performance from a century ago, slightly altered to appease the more blood thirsty audiences of modern times.

The evening consists of five short plays. The Final Kiss, written by Maurice Level, a man has been horribly disfigured by his ex-fiancée in a brutal acid attack. He finds it in his heart to forgive her, on the condition that she give him one last kiss. Tics, or Doing the Deed, is a classic Grand-Guignol sex farce written by Rene Berton. Two uptight married couples are at tea, and end up sneaking off to “do the deed” with the person to which they are not married. The adultery is revealed when the men are left incapacitated by their post-coital “tics”. Coals of Fire is an intense psychological drama involving a crippled old wife and her young, beautiful caretaker. Through persuasion and flattery the wife uncovers that the man spending nights in the caretaker’s room is indeed her own younger husband. Will the wife practice the principles in her much read Bible, and forgive the adulterers? The Ultimate Torture is a modern adaptation of Andre de Lorde’s horror classic. An unnamed Enemy has attacked the city, perhaps the world, and the only survivors are hiding out in a basement, where their leader attempts to keep hope alive despite starvation and insanity. We end the evening with a new horror satire written by Sean Demers, This Old House. A couple of teenage girls sneak into an old house for some sexual experimentation, and stumble into a satanic sacrifice. All Heaven and Hell breaks loose.

The sole company producing the Grand-Guignol regularly, this will be the Queens Players 8th annual installment of the series produced by Richard Mazda as a part of the Queens Players month long celebration of the Halloween Season. Running along side the Queens Players production of Marat/Sade and culminating in the company’s first annual Halloween party including live bands, classic horror movie screenings, and performances from both productions.

Starring: Jeni Ahlfeld, Kirsten Anderson, Sean Demers*, Catherine Ellsberg, Beth Heidere, Dave Herigstad, Tim Lalumia, Jenny Levine, Amy Lytle, Teddy Lytle, Greg Petroff*, and Jack Rondeau.

Theatre du Grand Guignol: Tales of Horror and Fear is an Equity Approved Showcase.