The Grinning Man
by Tom Morris, Carl Grose, Tim Phillips, Marc Teitler

Name: The Grinning Man
Brand: Tom Morris
SKU: 9780573132209
Rating: 4.38 (8 reviews)

The Grinning Man Book Cover — The Grinning Man Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

120 mins Reduced Casting (Doubling Possible)

Synopsis

A strange new act has arrived at Trafalgar Fair’s freakshow.

Who is Grinpayne and how did he get his hideous smile?

With the help of an old puppeteer, his pet wolf and a blind girl, Grinpayne’s tale is told.

When word spreads across the capital, everything changes.

Desperate to know the terrible secrets of his mysterious past, Grinpayne leaves his true love behind and embarks on a journey into an even crueller world – the aristocracy.

The Grinning Man is a fairy-tale love story streaked with pitch-black humor, lashings of Gothic horror and swashbuckling adventure.

It opened at Bristol Old Vic in 2016 to great acclaim and in 2017 transferred to the West End’s Trafalgar Studios, where it achieved cult status and rave reviews.

Press Reviews

"This fanciful musical adaptation of The Man Who Laughs... mixes the comical, the grim and the shimmeringly romantic in its own way."
— The Times

"Blackly comic brilliance."
— The Telegraph

"[A] luridly compelling fairy story."
— The Independent

"A gloriusly enjoyable show... perfect for your inner child."
— The Express

"A gothic, dark world of magic and mayhem... storytelling with plenty of dark magic thrown in."
— WhatsOnStage

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
GRINPAYNE the grinning man	male	—	the grinning man
DEA a blind girl	female	—	a blind girl
URSUS an old man	male	—	an old man
MOJO his wolf (a puppet)	—	—	his wolf (a puppet)
ANGELICA a princess, then a queen	female	—	a princess, then a queen
JOSIANA a duchess and Angelica’s half sister	female	—	a duchess and Angelica’s half sister
DAVID DIRRY-MOIR a lord and Angelica’s half brother	male	—	a lord and Angelica’s half brother
BARKILPHEDRO a servant clown	—	—	a servant clown
KING CLARENCE a tyrant monarch (mostly dead throughout)	male	—	a tyrant monarch (mostly dead throughout)
OSRIC the freak-wrangler of Trafalgar Fair	—	—	the freak-wrangler of Trafalgar Fair
QUAKE an inspector of nuisances	—	—	an inspector of nuisances
KUPSAK an archbishop	—	—	an archbishop
A HANGED MAN/	—	—	—
HAZLITT TRELAW a rebel lord	—	—	a rebel lord
MOTHER/LADY ELIZA TRELAW Trelaw’s wife	female	—	Trelaw’s wife
A WOMAN IN THE SNOW	—	—	—
HER BABY (a puppet)	—	—	(a puppet)
SPIKE a court assistant / part-time torturer	—	—	a court assistant / part-time torturer
HANS	—	—	—
PEOPLE OF THE FAIR FREAKS SAILORS PASSENGERS LORDS	—	—	—
A Possible Guide to Doubling/Puppeteering from the Authors In our production, the performers playing	—	—	In our production, the performers playing
GRINPAYNE and	—	—	and
DEA puppeteered their smaller puppet selves. Two puppeteers did	—	—	puppeteered their smaller puppet selves. Two puppeteers did
MOJO , who, as performers, also doubled as	—	—	, who, as performers, also doubled as
MOTHER/ELIZA TRELAW also doubled as	—	—	also doubled as