Tokyo Grand Guignol

Tokyo Grand Guignol was a Japanese theater company that operated during the years 1983-1986. "Grand Guignol" is a theatrical style of short play that emphasizes violence and the macabre. The company was founded by Ameya Norimizu（ 飴屋法水）（あめやのりみず）and　Tagane Kikyou （鏨汽鏡）（たがねききょう）。Tokyo Grand Guignol (TGG) would go on to perform four plays before disbanding in 1986. The four plays are as follows:

Mercuro (First performance November 1984)

Galatia (First performance May 1985)

Litchi Hikari Club (First performance December 1985)

Walpurgis (First performance October 1986)

TGG is remembered by its surrealist aesthetics and interest in taboo topics. TGG works often depict blood, guts, violence, eroticism, religious blasphemy, etc. TGG works celebrate the gory and absurd, with an emphasis on grimy, working-class, post-war aesthetics. Promotional art for plays were often created by Suehiro Maruo, of Midori: Shoujo Tsubaki fame.

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TGG set itself apart from other theater troupes at the time by recruiting actors with no experience. They also refused to publish stage photos, opting to advertise through synopsis and art alone. Media archives of productions were heavily gatekept by the troupe, with only a few images or audio recordings surviving. Even then, audio recordings and manuscripts are not publicly available.

Mercuro / マーキュロ (1984)

Source Translation and Archiving Needed

Galatas / ガラチア (1985)

Source Translation and Archiving Needed

Litchi Hikari Club / ライチ光クラブ (1985)

A detailed English synopsis of the original play, with pictures, can be found here. [x]

Walpurgis / ワルプルギス (1986)

Source Translation and Archiving Needed