Louis Maskell Archives - North West End UK

10May

By Carole BaldockNo Comments

North West

Hamilton – Liverpool Empire

I had intended to open with a merry quip: who has my eye-teeth? Unfortunately, although that did apply, this show ultimately left me somewhat underwhelmed. Unlike the rest of the audience, at one point, the girl behind us got so excited, her drink flew out of her hand down my companion’s back. But I remained confused: history, story and characters; it’s not as if Mr Google is a new acquaintance, I just didn’t expect to have to call on him quite so much and still can’t match some of the name and faces from the cast list. Yes, there’s no denying Lin-Manuel Miranda’s was a brilliant idea, so original it’s like a beautiful, expensive, brand new sportscar compared with yet another weary, worn out bandwagon. He does justice to the under-rated man who was one of the founders of America, and wi...

Hamilton – Bradford Alhambra

Bradford’s historic Alhambra Theatres is certainly doing its bit to kick off the city’s stint as UK City of Culture by booking the world’s hottest musical in for a long run. I’ve always thought a hip-hop musical about Alexander Hamilton, one of the more obscure members of the Founding Fathers who delivered democracy to America, was a concept that shouldn’t really work, but, boy, did this powerful touring version of a theatrical juggernaut prove me very wrong. If you think of the Founding Fathers as an intellectual boyband, then Hamilton born as a bastard into poverty in the Caribbean is the Jason Orange of the group. Quite why Lin-Manuel Miranda who wrote the book, lyrics and music picked him to be the star of his show isn’t that obvious, but the rise and fall of this Icarus of the r...

The Grinning Man – Bristol Old Vic

Based on the 1869 novel ‘The Man who Laughs’ by Victor Hugo, ‘The Grinning Man’ is an eerie and sinister tale of a grinning ‘freak’ searching to find ‘the monster in his mind’ and discover the secrets of his past. The musical enjoyed a very successful period at The Trafalgar Studios in London’s West End and is now available for streaming from its performance at The Bristol Old Vic. Set in 19th century London, ‘The Grinning Man’ intertwines terror with dark comedy in order to relay the spine-chilling tale of an abandoned child called Grinpayne (Louis Maskell), desperate to find the secrets of his past and how he gained his ‘grinning’ smile in the first place. As the story unfolds, we are introduced to Dea (Audrey Brisson), a blind girl, also longing for her own discovery. She accompanies...