FACT: London is amazing
FACT: I like what I like. I don’t like what I don’t like.
FACT: Sometimes I change my mind.
I have been living in London for years and there is always sooo much to do and see. One thing that visitors from across the country world is for the glittering lights of West End Theatre! Some of the best performers have "trod the boards" in some of the best shows.
Since living in London I have tried to do / see as much as I can; you know, that YOLO thing all the "cool kids" were saying a few years back... eerm, okay, anyway, I have been lucky enough to have seen many MANY shows.
Now, I’m not a theatre critic, in fact – I never pay much attention to what the critics have to say. When it comes to theatre, film, music, art, fashion…basically - anything – when it comes to people telling me what I should or shouldn’t like, I tend to ignore them and see for myself, that’s the thing about theatre its art and its subjective… not everyone is going to like the same thing – after all, I LOVED Viva Forever, the Spice Girls musical (please do let that put you off reading this) My point is, opinions are opinions and not fact; that’s a fact.
I’m not writing this review as a scholar of the performing arts, but I have been lucky enough to have seen over 180 west end shows, some of them more than twice, (I've seen Wicked over 25 times). from that many shows I have seen, some I liked, some not so much.
Last night after work my husband and I went to see THE GRINNING MAN, a new musical that has transferred from Bristol Old Vic to London’s west end. The official synopsis is:
A strange new act has arrived at the fairground. Who is Grinpayne and how did he get his hideous smile? Paraded as a freak, then celebrated as a star, only the love of a sightless girl can reveal his terrible secret...
Before I went, the only thing I knew about the show was that it is based on a book by Victor Hugo - he’s the fella that wrote the novels Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame; I can’t say I’m an avid follower of his work and I haven’t read the books, but I have seen the musical adaptation of Les Mis 3 or 4 times (on stage) and twice as a musical film, the one with Hugh Jackman (blush) and the unforgettable singing (for all the wrong reasons) of Russell Crowe. Anyway, enough about Les Mis…
The Grinning Man is a “Tragicomedy” not as in “O-M-G that comedy was
TRAGIC” but as good old Wikipedia puts it “a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the overall mood” so, if Wikipedia is correct and let’s face it – WHEN has wiki ever been wrong?!?! Then this musical is a Tragicomedy in the truest sense! I don’t want to give too much away, but what I will say, is that from the moment you head into Studio 1 of Trafalgar Studios you get a sense of what you are about to bear witness to, as I take a seat – in front of me is this fantastic view.
The show begins and it is evident from the outset that I’m going to enjoy this – the humour is just my cup of tea. The entire cast were incredible, the comic timing, the singing and even the nuanced movement (look at me using fancy words – if you don’t know what nuanced means click here) I wouldn’t want to single anyone out, but I am going to. For me the emcee/narrator-clown-comic-badie played by Julian Bleach was the performance that carried me through the show, but it wouldn’t have worked without everyone else.
One other thing to talk about is the puppetry – and what puppetry it is! It’s so strange to watch a puppet get a feel of emotion of a puppet that has only one, static facial expression.
I would highly recommend this show - The Grinning Man made me smile
This show is FANTASTIC, and the Trafalgar Studios are intimate enough to make you feel a part of all the goings on of the show - there isn't a bad seat in the house, I love this venue and I think its perfect for such a show.
The Grinning Man is playing at Trafalgar Studios until 14th April 2018, tickets from £35 at LoveTheatre and Group Line off EXCLUSIVE discounts for group bookings of 6 or more people.
Age Restriction: Recommended for brave 12 year olds and above. Some scenes contain sexual references and swearing.