The Grinning Man - Bristol Old Vic & Trafalgar Studios

Saw this on Friday evening through the great deal on Today Tix of amazing seats for £2.50. I saw amazing as the view was great however at least one limb always gets contorted at Trafalgar Studios.

Really glad that we went having failed to grab seats for The Birthday Party (hopefully this week) After seeing this I described it to my friend as 'If the London Dungeon did a musical but a bit less tacky and funnier' and she agreed. 

The good:

Some lovely songs. I liked Stars in The Sky a lot. 
               
Use of the space. There isn't a great amount of space in Trafalgar Studios but I felt they adapted to it well with lots of simple set pieces doubling up and even space for a little pit (the best place to keep badly behaved musicians) 

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler - click to view}
Actors come amongst the audience, enter from in front of the stage and the pit. It's all good fun.

Julian Bleach stole many scenes for me as Barkilphedro (the clown) He is lucky enough to have a lot of the comedy and he has a                   surprisingly large part.

Nice to see Julie Atherton back on the West End stage. I haven't seen her since Avenue Q!

I enjoyed the dark/vaudeville feel of the piece. It isn't scary but you are transported to a darker time.


The not so good: As I've read in other reviews I felt that it did drag a bit in the second half but not unbearably so.

                         I didn't really connect with Grinpayne as much as I think I was supposed to. This made the ending feel a bit flat for                                      me!


I recommend this to anyone looking for a slightly wacky but beautiful and funny night out. The staff are lovely at Trafalgar Studios also.

Four stars.



               

It's been pretty packed both times I've been to see it! Only a few empty seats from what I could see

Saw this last night I'm glad I managed to convince my friend to take a chance on this show as we both ended up really enjoying it. We did end up being clambered over, but it was worth it for the overall view we had of the show. Also loved the way they'd decorated the whole space to fit with the shoes setting

Three days later and I still have tunes from this running around in my head.
Almost cinematic in it's presentation at time, this was so engaging.
The puppetry was incredible. Almost lifelike in the movement, especially Mojo - although I'd have preferred it if they'd changed his name slightly, Moja even, Mojo just made me think of Austin Powers every time his name was mentioned.
Loved so many of the characters. Especially Julie Atherton's Queen Angelica, whose performance was almost comparable to that of Miranda Richardson's Queenie in Blackadder, comic brilliance.
Sat in row J I was glad Grimpayne & Dea made their way through into the audience for the finale as I got to see Grimpayne's prosthetic smile up close, which was incredibly detailed.
Having snatched a ticket up with my ATG Theatre card for £12 I left feeling like I'd stolen a seat. Absolutely crazy value for such an amazing show!

Oh cool, thanks for the info! Mojo is a little clumsy, but 10x better than homo. ha.

The National emailed a discount code to entry pass members. I think it runs out today though.

Someone on here mentioned it. Hadn't realised Trafalgar Studios was ATG. Just logged in with ATG Card and offer was there. Think I remember it saying it was limited to 200 though, so it could be they all went - not surprised at that price. Just checked now and it doesnt seem to be there.

And in the excellent silent movie too!

I saw this today from AA7 (via Todaytix), which I booked thanks to reassurance here about the view. You certainly get a ringside seat, even down to being able to see the song titles on the MD's score sheet, but it's a very odd position and quite exposed, as AA7 is all alone with no other seats in the row on that side, though on the other side there seemed to be several. Also, members of the cast go back and forth in front of you multiple times, and you don't always notice them appearing, so I was frequently distracted by trying to ensure they didn't trip over my bag or my legs.

That aside, whilst I can't identify quite what it is, something about this show certainly exerts a tenacious grip. It's not the score, which is pleasant but, imo, unmemorable and not distinctive; it's not the characterisation when compared to something like Young Frankenstein, and whilst I agree with comments that you really didn't know what was going to happen next, the mystery wasn't very mysterious and the explanation was heavily signalled throughout.

Not that any of this matters - this show genuinely isn't like anything else I've ever seen and despite the grotesque subject, manages somehow to draw you in - and I normally loathe puppetry, so it really did succeed against the odds for me.

Do we know: Have there been any rumblings about a cast recording for this?

I went in not knowing what to expect this week... and I left having completely fell in love with a new musical. I know it hasn’t been for everybody, but this got so intensely under my skin in an incredible way. It’s not often a new show shoots straight to my top favourites list, but this certainly has. A few things I loved; the story, the premise, the staging, the cast, the songs, the puppetry... I’ve been enjoying figuring some of these songs out at my piano today. I can’t wait to go back.

The BOV recording was a live show recording, but missed out the first few songs. It's sort of like they forgot to press record at the start. I listened again to it recently and it niggles me that is isn't complete.