The Grinning Man Tickets

The Grinning Man – that sounds like a cheery title! It does indeed, a show with happy songs and the feel-good factor. But this production is a darkly comic musical, mixing catchy tunes with sinister puppetry and a dark, gothic story. Think Tim Burton and Phantom Of The Opera, or maybe even Les Misérables. Not so cheery now.

What’s the show about? Grinpayne (played by Louis Maskell) is always smiling. By smiling, we mean he has a grin permanently cut into his face, marking him out as a hideous freak. So, why does he look like The Joker from Batman? We don’t know and neither does he. But he’s determined to find out. Maybe the mysterious, terrifying clown Barkilphedro (Julian Bleach) can help him with the answer (why does there always have to be a scary clown in these kinds of productions?). Or maybe a sightless girl will teach him that it doesn’t matter what he looks like, as long as he has someone who loves him for who he is.

Why have I heard of Victor Hugo? He wrote the original story, The Man Who Laughs, which is what writer Carl Grose adapted to create this musical. Carl is a well-known writer in his own right, one of the team behind KneeHigh’s most famous show Tristan & Yseult. But everyone needs some inspiration occasionally, and Victor Hugo’s story is the perfect dark & twisted tale for the job. Victor Hugo himself isn’t a one-trick pony either – perhaps you’ve heard of his most famous book, Les Misérables?

A show with puppetry… is it just like War Horse? Well, yes and no. No, in that it doesn’t have any horses in it. But yes, in that it does have puppets crafted by the original War Horse puppeteers, Gyre & Gimble. It also is directed by Tom Morris, the original director of War Horse when it first galloped onto stage at the National Theatre. He also took the show across the river to the West End and then across the pond to Broadway.

So, why should I go? It’s the perfect anti-Christmas show, no magical happy ever after and no pantomime spirit. Instead, you get dark & twisted – a macabre, Gothic plot and an outstanding musical score. The puppetry is a clever combo of childlike and creepy, just like those dolls that you see in classic Victorian-styled horror films. Plus, it’s on at Trafalgar Studios for only ten weeks and it’s going to sell fast. So, don’t hang about.