Jose Levy (Portsmouth, June 29, 1884 - October 6, 1936) was an English actor and theater director who tried to import the ghoulish aesthetic of the Magnificent Guignol for audiences in London.
Juan José Levy was born in Portsmouth, England and studied at the School of Commerce, Lausanne.
In 1920, Juan José Levy opened the Grand Guignol Theater located in the Strand district of London. Levy's productions included performances by English actress Sybil Thorndike, who also played the role of Joan of Arc in George Bernard Shaw's Santa Juana play. During its inaugural season, Levy's company starred in plays such as André de Lorde's Hand of Death.
The Grand Guignol experiment ended in 1922 when Juan José Levy was censored by Lord Chambelán's department in England. In announcing his disappearance, Levy declared that "the reason why Grand Guignol ends is because of the rigidity of the censorship ... it is impossible to continue while the Department of Lord Chamberlain continues to pose so many difficulties".
In March 1934, Levy received the Légion de Honor for recognition of his contributions to French theater in England.
In an obituary published on October 10, 1936 in The Times, James Agate praised Juan José Levy's passion for theater. He wrote that "unlike many theater directors, (Levy) was intensely interested in him." The fact that the direction of a theater was his business never destroyed his love of drama as an art. "
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