The Grand Guignolers present “Absinthe, Opium & Magic.”
By Laura Tate / Editor
For a unique theater experience, “Absinthe, Opium & Magic: 1920s Shanghai,” now playing at the Art/Works Theatre in Los Angeles, offers an immersion into the dark and decadent era of early 1900s Shanghai. Audience members are encouraged to dress in vintage/cocktail attire and are served absinthe (the real thing) before “boarding” the ship, set to sail with the theater troupe, the Grand Guignolers.
The Grand Guignolers are a “faux 1920s Parisian troupe,” as they describe themselves in press materials, that incorporates melodrama, clown, commedia dell’arte, dance, puppets and mime, as well as magic into its presentations in the spirit of Grand Guignol, which is derived from Le Theatre du Grand Guignol, the name of the Parisian theatre that was filled with macabre subject matters and over-the-top graphic violence. However, creator and director Debbie McMahon has toned down the blood and violence in this particular show, according to one member of the troupe.
After guests are seated, a comedic tango (danced by Tina Van Berckelaer and Zachary Tatum-Nolan, choreographed by Teresa Ann Volgineau) prepares audiences for the strange, funny and sometimes outrageous adventure ahead.
The show, which lasts about an hour and half with no intermission, is comprised of various vignettes, with the first depicting a ship stowaway Guignoler (Debbie McMahon) discovering a crate filled with various magic objects, and an opium pipe, which she smokes.
This takes us to three vignettes covering the story of several Sing Song girls, one of whom is sold to gangster, Lou the Rat (Roy Starr). Bright Pearl (Tina Van Berckelaer) and Clever Baby (Elizabeth Weisbaum) are the two other Sing Song women, and their Madame, Old Bustard (Dinah Steward) keeps watch over all. Bright Pearl is slated to become The Green Gangsters’ leader Big Ears’ (Justin Waggle) concubine as long as all goes well with Little Rouge’s (Amanda Street) transfer to Lou the Rat, a gift of Big Ears, who also has an opium deal with Lou.
What ensues is a tale of hopes, dashed dreams and violence, with an all-out brawl that is depicted in an excellently choreographed slow motion, martial arts scene by Gregory Hoffman.
Not a word is spoken in these scenes, which are narrated by Dani O’Terry, and the performances are well done.
The interlude, “Les Petits Guignolers,” is a puppet show accompanied by O’Terry on cello, with Street (who designed the Petits puppets) and McMahon performing the hand puppets. However, the audience is warned that this (and the entire show) is not for children. It is a hilarious performance, involving star, Jean-Pierre, pondering his existence of what it means to be a puppet, along with the bawdy seduction of a female puppet (played by Street). McMahon’s talents (aside from creating this crazy show) shine here, playing the role of three characters that interact almost simultaneously. Ember Knight is excellent as a Guignoler Clown, full of energy and bright eyed when dancing and goofing off in other scenes, and deadpan when presented scene cards for the audience between the puppets acts.
The macabre part of the show occurs in “The Cabinet of Hands” in which a young couple (Robin Long and Zachary Foulkes) and their male friend (Waggle), wanting to experience the dark side, travel to an opium den where immediately the two men are killed, then the young woman is drugged and has her hand cut off. Tall fountains of blood spurt everywhere, causing the audience to laugh, but then they groan, as the removal of the hand looks quite real (special effects courtesy of Chris Bell, who also designed the simple, yet effective set, and served as associate producer).
McMahon also shines in the last piece, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” which she loosely based on the original story by Goethe. It is a wild and uproarious scene filled with absinthe and hallucinations, as The Guignoler, back with the crate filled with magical objects, ends up being chased by two brooms, a Chinese lion (named Freddy) and a huge evil rabbit after she drinks the highly alcoholic liqueur; they all pursue the Guignoler, trying to drown her in waves of absinthe.
Kudos is well deserving of all performers (who did double duty selling tickets, serving drinks, and manning a photo booth) and offstage talent.
Absinthe, Opium and Magic performs through Jan. 3 on Fridays, Saturdays, and selected Wednesday, Thursdays and Sundays. More information can be found online at www.grandguignolers.com