Yesterday I went to see The Grinning Man at Trafalgar Studios, which has transferred to London from the Bristol Old Vic. The Grinning Man is a new macabre musical, based on Victor Hugo’s The Man Who Laughs.
I don’t know quite where to begin with this. From the beginning I was dubious, however, the general aesthetic of the musical drew me in. The aesthetic, having this dark, circus, freak show victorian London feel to it. Everything worked in harmony. Nothing really felt that out of place, apart from perhaps some of the humour. The space was perfect for it, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was going to walk out onto the Royal Mile after the show, as it had such a ‘fringy’ feel to it.
The main attraction for me was the puppetry, which I absolutely loved. It had an air of eeriness, but charm and talent with it. I always love puppetry, and I think the cast and everyone involved did such a fantastic job bringing the puppets to life. Rob Casey, the lighting designer, had me drooling over the look of the play. The lighting, ironically, darkened the whole play and contributed to the spine-chilling atmosphere. Combined with the beautiful score, it threw you into their world. Something, I think is lacking in a lot of theatre right now. It’s been a while since I’ve been to the theatre, and not seen some sort of political agenda threaded throughout. Don’t get me wrong- I love political theatre- but there is something to be said about going to the theatre, and being able to forget about the world outside for two hours.
Louis Maskell, Grinpayne, was enchanting. There’s no other way to describe him. I couldn’t keep my eyes off him, and his bandaged face. His physicality, almost puppet-like, fitted perfectly with the show. And he had such a wonderful voice, especially for someone performing masked for most of the two hours. His voice worked perfectly with Sanne Den Besten, who played Dea, and their chemistry together, almost made me forget that they grew up as brother and sister (Not by blood though).
It was a wonderfully quirky, darkly comedic, eerie and yet still uplifting new musical. Executed brilliantly by the cast and crew. It’s just what the west end needs right now.
Not Paradise, Maybe home 