The Grand Guignol was a theatre in Paris that was ground-breaking in its use of special effects, often using them to demonstrate horrifying images. This was the first theatre to use retractable blades, bleeding knives, and effects depicting such acts as a woman’s face being burned on stage.

The original ‘Theatre of Horror’ closed down in the 1940s unable to contend with 1) the rise of cinema where special effects could be used more powerfully and realistically, and 2) the real life horrors of the Second World War. But its legacy lives on, and the Marauders used this notion of horror theatre to create a more dystopian view of a world where the horror isn’t quite so prosthetic.