More than any of Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol's other playwrights, the prolific André De Lorde was fascinated by the terrifying implications of modern life. While it was easy for him to bring the horror to the surface when dealing with themes such as madness and mutilation in mental asylums and surgical wards, De Lorde was capable of seeing horror in just about everything.

La Derniére Torture (written by André De Lorde and Eugène Morel) was one of the more controversial plays that the theatre produced. The Grand-Guignol form was known for its lurid and sensationalistic elements, and the play's subject matter, the Boxer Rebellion, was still fresh on the minds of the French when the play premiered in 1904. Perhaps more importantly, the Grand-Guignol form was used to tell a story not about criminals and psychopaths, but soldiers, dimplomats, and intelligences agents. This was more shocking than all the stage blood in the world.

11th Hour is The Car Crash Club's adaptation of La Derniére Torture -- but the updates are merely cosmetic. The insurgents may speak a different language and the diplomats may not be French, but the story at the play's heart remains the same -- despite our "new" political reality.