Audrey Brisson, Louis Maskell and the young Grinpayne puppet in The Grinning Man at Bristol Old Vic. Picture: Simon Annand
The critically-acclaimed production of The Grinning Man, directed by Tony Award-winning Tom Morris (War Horse) and based on the Victor Hugo novel The Man Who Laughs, will take over Studio 1 at Trafalgar Studios from 5 December, following an autumn 2016 premiere at the Bristol Old Vic. Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday 11 October.
This romantic gothic musical love story is brought to life by Kneehigh writer Carl Grose (Dead Dog in a Suitcase) and Tim Phillips and Marc Teitler (who have written the score). The cast is led by Louis Maskell, in the title role of Grinpayne, and Julian Bleach, who plays Barkilphedro, a vengeful clown with a heart of lead.
Macabre, magical and visually astonishing, this ultimately elating love story is a distinctive delight that barges through the gateway carved by the Nineties cult hit Shockheaded Peter with the full-blooded emotion of Les Misérables.
The Grinning Man reunites Tom Morris with two puppeteers who began their careers inside Joe and Topthorn in the original production of War Horse – Finn Caldwell and Toby Olié – now leading their own puppetry company Gyre & Gimble.
The producers will present the show in a specially configured space in Trafalgar Studios for an open-ended run from 5 December.
The Grinning Man is produced by Bristol Old Vic, Trafalgar Entertainment Group, Eilene Davidson, Richard O’Brien, David Adkin and Neil Laidlaw.
Louis Maskell has just been nominated for Best Performance in a Musical for his performance as Grinpayne at the UK Theatre Awards.
Fresh from Chichester Festival Theatre’s Fiddler On the Roof, he has recently appeared in Flowers For Mrs Harris (Sheffield Crucible). My Fair Lady (Sheffield Crucible), and in the UK tour of West Side Story. He also played the lead role in The Fix (Union Theatre).
Julian Bleach (Barkilphedro) is best known for his defining role in the Olivier Award-winning Shockheaded Peter. His other theatre roles include Gormenghast at BAC, playing Ariel to Patrick Stewart’s Prospero in the RSC production of The Tempest and Ivanov in the NT production of Every Good Boy Deserves Favour.
His television roles include Davros, creator of the Daleks, in the 2008 season finale of Doctor Who, returning to reprise the role in 2015. He is currently appearing as the Dragon in St George and the Dragon at the National Theatre.
www.trafalgarentertainment.com
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