Review by: Paul Towers, 27/4/18
The Grinning Man by Carl Grose, Tom Morris, Tim Phillips
& Marc Teitler
Bristol Old Vic & Trafalgar Entertainment production
Trafalgar Studios til 5 May 2018
“funny, sad, musical story of triumph over adversity.”
Imagine a time towards the end of the 19th
century, a time of magic and fairytales. Especially Grimm Fairytales. Imagine a
parallel universe where horrific things are done, where giant wolf-dogs abound
and travelling carnivals shelter the weird and wonderful. This is the world of
the Grinning Man, Grimpayne, played by Louis Makell, an orphan whose mouth was
slit in a failed attempt to silence his witnessing of his parents’ murders.
Appallingly disfigured and scared, Grimpayne is sheltered in
a travelling fair to be exhibited for pennies.
So far this does not sound like a good basis for an amusing
musical. But, based on the story by Victor Hugo (no surprise given his other
famous works include Les Miserable and The Hunchback of Notre Dame) and reworked
for the stage by Carl Grose with original music by Carl Grose, Tom Morris, Tim
Phillips and Marc Teitler, this turns into a funny, sad, musical story of
triumph over adversity and karma.
The theatre has been made over to resemble a run down carnival,
paint and playbills are peeling off the walls and the stage is surrounded by
weathered wood with fading paintwork depicting the titular split smile of
Grimpayne. The proceedings are narrated and progressed by a sinister jester/MC,
played by Julian Bleach, whose servile manner and Shakespearean oratory, hides
myriad secrets.
The set, in what is a comparatively intimate theatre space, is
incredibly complex with chunks of scenery moving in and out and round and round
as the action moves from the circus to the bedrooms of various people, to the
royal court to the forest.
Add into this mix several puppets (created by the team behind
War Horse) including a wolf/dog the size of a pony and the child Grimpayne.
Trafalgar Studios were, in a previous incarnation, The
Whitehall Theatre. Nowadays this has been split into two intimate theatres
studios by the relatively simple method of building a stage floor out from the
front of the old balcony. The upstairs studio therefore has steeply raked
seating meaning great views form every part of the auditorium. The only
downside is that, being an old theatre, leg room is not a priority. If you are
above average height avoid the side seats in the front 10 rows.
http://ptheatre.blogspot.co.uk/
No comments:
Post a Comment