Oscar Méténier took over the little building in the Impasse Chaptal in 1897. Something calling itself the Grand Guignol closed its doors in 1962. We tend to speak of it as a single entity, but was it? Sixty years is a long time, the theatre underwent numerous changes and multiple, very different managers.
At this stage I have to 'fess up that there's a huge amount I just don't know. I learn slowly and sporadically. I've said elsewhere how surprising it is that projects like this just don't get documented. No-one kept a diary. Then I remember that we've been doing Grand Guignol inspired shows for two years, and we don't keep a diary either. We should.
Anyway, what do we know? Méténier took over the building in 1897. He came from the Theatre Antoine where he had been a writer. We believe that originally he wanted a "living newspaper". He appears to have lasted precisely one year before handing over to Max Maurey. Maurey would run it for sixteen years.
Is it fair to say that Méténier's influence was actually fairly minimal? Maurey would move from the Guigno; to the Theatre des Varietes, a much bigger more prestigious venue, so it's reasonable to assume that people were impressed by his performance at the Grand Guignol.
I'm thinking out loud. It's so frustrating not having data. Let's have a look at the Grang Guignol's opening night. The 13th April, 1897. A Tuesday. Easter week:
Six pieces plus a prologue. I would dearly like to know what was in that prologue, given the likelihood that it was a manifesto for Méténier's vision and the first words spoken on that little stage. Also notable is that we have three playwrights: Méténier does two pieces, which we'd expect. Jean Lorraine does two and Georges Courteline does two. At this stage I know very little about these gentlemen.
We might as well start easy, with the Wikipedia page. And that was the beginning of a magnificent detour. Lorrain was (according to Wikipedia) a dedicated dandy and out gay man (his nickname was "Sodom's ambassador to Paris"). Metenier had already collaborated with him on a piece for the Theatre Libre.
1858 to 1929. Courteline was 39 in 1897. According to Wikipedia (I have no shame) he was "a satirist notable for his sharp wit and cynical humour".
He had two pieces in that opening night: Coup de fusil and Monsieur Badin. https://libretheatre.fr/le-theatre-de-georges-courteline/
Queer with a capital Q. What is becoming very evident is that on its opening night, on the 13th April 1897, the Grand Guignol opened with a very clear statement. It was decadent and it was, through at the very least Lorrain, assertively Queer.