The Grinning Man

The Grinning Man is a magical and macabre musical based on the novel, ‘The Man Who Laughs’, written by Victor Hugo, author of ‘Les Miserables’ and ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’. It will make its Australian premiere in Autumn 2024.

This award-winning musical is a fairy-tale love story streaked with pitch-black humour, lashings of Gothic horror and swashbuckling adventure. This musical is brought to life by Carl Grose (Robin Hood), with a masterful score by Tim Phillips (Game of Thrones), Marc Teitler (The Magician’s Elephant) and Tom Morris (War Horse).

A strange new act has arrived at Trafalgar Fair’s freak-show. Who is Grinpayne and how did he get his hideous smile? In the grim and blackened streets of Trafalgar Square, with the help of an old puppeteer, his pet wolf and a blind girl, Grinpayne’s tale is told. Desperate to know the terrible secrets of his mysterious past and discover the truth of his gruesome disfigurement, Grinpayne leaves everything he knows and loves behind and embarks on a journey into an even crueller world. An epic tale of gothic horror, laughter, hope and humanity’s deep desire to be ‘seen’ and loved for who they truly are – in darkness and light.