Jose Levy
Encyclopedia
Jose Levy was the theatre practitioner who attempted to import the ghoulish and grisly Grand Guignol
aesthetic for London audiences.
Levy was born in Portsmouth, England and educated at the Ecole de Commerce, Lausanne
.
In 1920, Levy opened the Grand Guignol
theatre in the Little Theatre located in the London's Strand District. Levy's productions featured performances by the English stage actress Sybil Thorndike
, who would eventually originate the role of Joan of Arc
in George Bernard Shaw
's Saint Joan
. During its inaugural season, Levy's company staged such notorious thrillers as Andre de Lorde
's The Hand of Death.
The Grand Guignol
experiment ended in 1922 when Levy met with interference from England's censorious Lord Chamberlain
's Department. Upon announcing its demise, Levy stated that "the reason I am finishing with Grand Guignol
is the too rigid censorship. . . it is impossible to carry on while the Lord Chamberlain's Department raises so many difficulties."
In March, 1934 Levy received the Légion d'honneur
for recognition of his contributions to French drama and theatre in England.
In an obituary published on October 10, 1936 in The Times
, James Agate
praised Levy’s passion for the theatre. He wrote that “unlike many theatre managers, (Levy) was intensely interested in theatre. The fact that managing a theatre was his business never destroyed his love for the drama as an art.”
Grand Guignol
Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol — known as the Grand Guignol — was a theatre in the Pigalle area of Paris . From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962 it specialized in naturalistic horror shows...
aesthetic for London audiences.
Levy was born in Portsmouth, England and educated at the Ecole de Commerce, Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
.
In 1920, Levy opened the Grand Guignol
Grand Guignol
Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol — known as the Grand Guignol — was a theatre in the Pigalle area of Paris . From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962 it specialized in naturalistic horror shows...
theatre in the Little Theatre located in the London's Strand District. Levy's productions featured performances by the English stage actress Sybil Thorndike
Sybil Thorndike
Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike CH DBE was a British actress.-Early life:She was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire to Arthur Thorndike and Agnes Macdonald. Her father was a Canon of Rochester Cathedral...
, who would eventually originate the role of Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
in George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's Saint Joan
Saint Joan (play)
Saint Joan is a play by George Bernard Shaw, based on the life and trial of Joan of Arc. Published not long after the canonization of Joan of Arc by the Roman Catholic Church, the play dramatises what is known of her life based on the substantial records of her trial. Shaw studied the transcripts...
. During its inaugural season, Levy's company staged such notorious thrillers as Andre de Lorde
André de Lorde
André de Latour, comte de Lorde was a French playwright, the main author of the Grand Guignol plays from 1901-1926. His evening career was as a dramatist of terror; during daytimes he worked as a librarian in the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal. He wrote 150 plays, all of them devoted mainly to the...
's The Hand of Death.
The Grand Guignol
Grand Guignol
Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol — known as the Grand Guignol — was a theatre in the Pigalle area of Paris . From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962 it specialized in naturalistic horror shows...
experiment ended in 1922 when Levy met with interference from England's censorious Lord Chamberlain
Lord Chamberlain
The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State....
's Department. Upon announcing its demise, Levy stated that "the reason I am finishing with Grand Guignol
Grand Guignol
Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol — known as the Grand Guignol — was a theatre in the Pigalle area of Paris . From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962 it specialized in naturalistic horror shows...
is the too rigid censorship. . . it is impossible to carry on while the Lord Chamberlain's Department raises so many difficulties."
In March, 1934 Levy received the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
for recognition of his contributions to French drama and theatre in England.
In an obituary published on October 10, 1936 in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, James Agate
James Agate
James Evershed Agate was a British diarist and critic. In the period between the wars, he was one of Britain's most influential theatre critics...
praised Levy’s passion for the theatre. He wrote that “unlike many theatre managers, (Levy) was intensely interested in theatre. The fact that managing a theatre was his business never destroyed his love for the drama as an art.”