Review: THE GRINNING MAN, Bristol Old Vic At Home

"And so we find ourselves gathered once again at the altar of sweet distraction," purrs Julian Bleach's Barkilphedro, an ambitious court clown, at the beginning of The Grinning Man - a musical with book and lyrics by Carl Grose and music by Tim Phillips. If only, you might think: being in a theatre would do more than put a smile on my face right now.

Based on Victor Hugo's The Man Who Laughs (1869), The Grinning Man was first performed at the Bristol Old Vic in 2016 and then at Trafalgar Studios in 2017. This recording is of the Bristol production.

With a large scar extending from his mouth almost to his ears, Grinpayne travels with Dea, a blind girl whom he found wrapped in a blanket in her mother's dead arms, and their adopted father as part of a freak show. Unaware of the person who gave him this wound, the young man finds himself amidst a caricatured court and catches the interest of the royal siblings.

The Grinning Man is a weird amalgamation of Stephen Sondheim's Gypsy and Jeanine Tesori's Violet, with the characters and tone of Eugène Ionesco's Exit The King. It's an unusual beast, for sure, with puppets (gorgeous yet unsettlingly designed by Finn Caldwell and Toby Olié) and potions.

The cast, led by director Tom Morris, are all great. Audrey Brisson's Dea, Gloria Onitiri's Duchess Josiana and Stuart Neal's David Dirry-Moir especially put in strong performances, but Louis Maskell warrants praise especially for both balancing Grinpayne's anger with pathos and his melodious voice.

Maskell's singing is a marked difference to Bleach's, whose vibrato bounds with humour and dry satire. I doubt I'll see an erotic breakfast dance quite like what Bleach does for a long time - and no, that's not eating a bacon sandwich whilst doing a box step. At one point in the second half, Barkilphedro remarks "A clown is a lord when the world is upside down", and herein lies a problem, for in this topsy-turvy piece Bleach's performance risks distracting from the plot and Grinpayne's journey.

Other problems persist: the show's pacing and focus are uneven, it's at least 20 minutes too long, and none of the songs leave a lasting impression. Fortunately, these are not enough to detract from the performances, but it's hard not to feel your face drop as the piece continues to meander through.

The Grinning Man is like listening to a dirge on an accordion: it's alternative and macabre, yet compelling, as the notes are dragged in and out. Well, it's as compelling as listening to an accordion for two and a half hours could be.

The Grinning Man is available to stream online until 3 July

To post a comment, you must register and login.