Max Maurey served as director from 1898 to 1914. His theatre gave Metenier a basic model to use for The Grand Guignol Theatre. Under his direction, the theatre produced plays about a class of people who were not considered appropriate subjects in other venues: prostitutes, criminals, street urchins and others at the lower end of Paris's social echelon.ДЄndrГ© Antoine was the founder of the ThГ©Гўtre Libre and a collaborator of Metenier. Oscar MГ©tГ©nier was the Grand Guignol's founder and original director. The theatre's peak was between World War I and World War II, when it was frequented by royalty and celebrities in evening dress. The theatre owed its name to Guignol, a traditional Lyonnaise puppet character, joining political commentary with the style of Punch and Judy. Maury used the goriness to his advantage by hiring doctors to be at performances as a marketing ploy. Frequently, the 'special effects' would be too realistic and often an audience member would faint or vomit during performances. It has been said that audience members would get so boisterous in the boxes, that actors would sometimes break character and yell something such as 'Keep it down in there!' Conversely, there were audience members who could not physically handle the brutality of the actions taking place on stage. Underneath the balcony were boxes (originally built for nuns to watch church services) that were available for theatre-goers to rent during performances because they would get so aroused by the action happening on stage. Many attended the shows to get a feeling of arousal. The audience at 'Le ThГ©Гўtre du Grand-Guignol' endured the terror of the shows because they wanted to be filled with strong 'feelings' of something. People came to this theatre for an experience, not only to see a show. The opaque furniture and gothic structures placed sporadically on the walls of the building exude a feeling of eeriness from the moment of entrance. Although the architecture created frustrating obstacles, the design that was initially a predicament ultimately became beneficial to the marketing of the theatre.

ДЄ former chapel, the theatre's previous life was evident in the boxes вЂ“ which looked like confessionals вЂ“ and in the angels over the orchestra. With 293 seats, the venue was the smallest in Paris.

Le ThГ©Гўtre du Grand-Guignol was founded in 1897 by Oscar MГ©tГ©nier, who planned it as a space for naturalist performance.

Grand entrance sound effects