bienvenue

We want to show you a good time. Really. We aim to revitalize theatre by replacing boring with what theatre can be - liberating, provocative, naughty, scary, moving, bizarre, absurd, celebratory, ferocious, playful, bloody, sweaty, elegant, and FREAKING FUN. We treat theatre as an event, and we invite you to come play.

OUR SHOWS AREN'T BORING. Your enjoyment is our priority. Unlike 'tv onstage' or showcase or 'talking heads' theatre, our shows are like a party and .... theatrical. We create original stylized physical performance, drawing and reinterpreting physical popular theater traditions and techniques: Commedia Dell'Arte, melodrama, mask, mime, dance, magic, dance, clown, vaudeville, toy theatre, Grand Guignol, puppetry, and event .

WHAT IS GRAND GUIGNOL & WHAT WE DO

Le Theatre du Grand Guignol (1890s-1960s) of Paris was most well known for its gruesome horror plays and bloody special effects, the success of an evening's performance was determined by the number of fainting patrons, Middle or upper class patrons made their way down a dark alley in a 'seedy' part of town to the theatre, a converted church, to be frightened and titillated. But Grand Guignol was not all horror. Dubbed the "Theatre of Laughter and Terror," an evening alternated short pieces of farce, horror, and drama a kind of "hot and cold showers." The name is also a play on words after the French puppet, Guignol, so it is literally 'big puppets' although puppets were never literally part of Grand Guignol.

We pay homage to the Grand Guignol in a variety of ways while reinventing it, using it as a stepping off point: to evoke the feeling of guilty pleasure and of a visceral response, by incorporating some of the Grand Guignol suspense and bloody techniques, offering the evening of 'hot and cold showers,' of short varied pieces and playing as 'big puppets' and often using puppetry in our pieces literally and figuratively. We also play as a fictitious 1920s something Parisian troupe.

We theatricalize the entire experience, immersing you into the world. We encourage you to don period and cocktail attire for our events, and guests often impress us with creative garb. From the moment you walk in the door, you'll be warmly greeted as you step into our theatrical world. Try 'the green devil' absinthe (the real stuff), beer, wine, popcorn and other treats.