The Grinning Man: The Outsider Musical

TW: Mutilation, depression and mention of the death of a parent. Includes spoilers for The Grinning Man.

The outsider is a common character trope in both musical theatre and Victor Hugo’s works. Jean Valjean from Les Misérables and Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame are the most known of Hugo musical adaptations, yet throughout musical theatre there are plenty of outsiders. From Elphaba in Wicked and the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera, to the titular protagonists from Violet and Dear Evan Hansen. In The Grinning Man, the clearest example of the outsider is Grinpayne, who endeavours to seek retribution of the individual who cut his face as a child. The main draw of Ursus’ act, Grinpayne’s journey takes him from being the victim of his audiences’ laughter to becoming a part of the royal court. Yet, every character in The Grinning Man has qualities which makes them outsiders. Each has a specific focus or trait which isolates them from others’ understanding, even the royal family. As such, Grinpayne rises to the status of a pseudo godlike figure, in a musical which tells the stories of outsiders.

Introducing the world of The Grinning Man, court jester Barkilphedro is utilised as Grinpayne’s foil. Both performers forced to wear a smile, they are the clowns of the royal family and the people. Barkilphedro invites us into the tale, breaking the fourth wall and claiming that, ‘Laughter is the best medicine’[1], and encouraging us to take pleasure in Grinpayne’s misfortune. Grinpayne’s suffering nourishes his audiences and unites the classes in their found entertainment of his pain. Barkilphedro is utilised to set up one of the conceits of the show, that, ‘The only joy in life’s to laugh at those less fortunate than you’[2]. He, whose desire to become a lord has been mocked by King Clarence, shifts the focus of laughter from himself to Grinpayne. Meanwhile, Grinpayne’s suffering is evident and often expressed in his self-contempt. In his performance at the fair, the titular Grinning Man states, ‘I’m the stuff of your nightmares, was I born of unspeakable monsters?’[3] Grinpayne is outcast for his facial mutilation and this is evident in how he anticipates the audience will react to him. We can interpret that his past experiences were less than compassionate. Louis Maskell, who portrayed Grinpayne in both the original Bristol and London productions, discussed the significance of Grinpayne’s outsider status in promotional footage. He stated that, ‘Grinpayne is relevant to anyone who has ever felt ostracised physically, mentally and/or socially’[4]. This ostracisation is shared with Barkilphedro, who in his own way attempts to overcome his outsider status through his dream to be titled. Whilst it first appears that Barkilphedro’s journey as an antagonistic figure is centred on greed, it is apparent that his actions are driven by a desire to be accepted and respected. Evidently, his way of achieving this in the hierarchical society the musical presents is to become a lord. Ultimately, both Grinpayne and Barkilphedro are inextricably linked as doppelgängers, as is acknowledged by Grinpayne. He states that, ‘When I look at the man who cut my face, I see myself’[5]. Grinpayne recognises his own strife in Barkilphedro’s: both struggle to be taken seriously by society and as such are outcast. For Grinpayne, he finds his family with a group who are similarly outcast.

Grinpayne saves the baby Dea in the snow and is subsequently given a home by Ursus, a travelling producer of entertainment and his pseudo adoptive father. Along with Ursus’ wolf Mojo, the four form a family and dream of travelling to the ‘new world’[6]. The idea of finding belonging permeates the musical and is frequently repeated in Ursus’ lyrics. In ‘Stars in the Sky’, he states, ‘Sometimes dreams are places to hide when you need to survive in a cruel world. But dreamers like us carve ships out of wood, crossing oceans of blood to a new world’[7]. When he is berated by Dea, who begs him to reveal what he knows of Grinpayne’s past, Ursus begs, ‘Bury your pain, start life again’[8]. This ‘new world’ is both physical, represented by the final moments in the show when Grinpayne and Dea travel through the audience, and is interior. The family will be in a ‘new world’ when they forget and move on from their past. This was discussed by director and lyricist Tom Morris in ‘The Grinning Man Get-Together’, presented via Zoom. He explained that the characters rely on the audience to allow them to make this journey[9]. As such, the finale may be interpreted as the characters being reliant on gaining the audience’s acceptance, not laughter, in order to progress. The gruesome imagery around the journey to the ‘new world’ is further evident in Dea’s language. The traditional ingénue trope is distorted when she encourages Ursus to tell the story of ‘Beauty and the Beast’. She states that, ‘Stories of struggle / Loaded with darkness / Are like eyes to me’[10]. Such grotesque imagery reflects the earliest versions of the Beauty and the Beast, for instance Straparola’s The Pig King[11]. This suggests Dea’s grim way of viewing the world and conveys her identity as an outsider. Like Ursus, she does not identify with the world she is in, which is evident here as early as in her childhood. For Grinpayne’s part, he initially believes that the ‘new world’ his family dreams of could be found in the royal court.

This world is run by the royal family, initially by King Clarence and later by Queen Angelica. The former is not particularly characterised as an outsider, with the exception of his bizarre demise being caused by pork. Yet, his successor is first introduced by Barkilphedro as being Josiana and Lord David Dirry-Moir’s, ‘brutalised half-sister, the family outcast’[12]. Significantly, due to the indisposition of her siblings, it is ‘the family outcast’ who becomes the monarch and rules this kingdom wherein the socially rejected Grinpayne becomes beloved by all classes. Although Angelica specifically is identified as the ‘outcast’, her family members evidently do not fit the socially accepted norm either and have the potential to become outcast. ‘The bawdy comedy of the royal household’[13] may often be utilised as the musical’s comic relief, yet their reactions to Grinpayne are nonetheless significant. Both Dirry-Moir and Josiana are drawn to Grinpayne and, whilst this may be read as merely a fascination, their connection to him is evident. When Dirry-Moir introduces Josiana to his new obsession the Grinning Man, they become part of the audience described earlier by Barkilphedro as, ‘Here because your hearts are broken’[14]. As such, they are seemingly not quite as well-adjusted into society as we may assume. For Dirry-Moir, he identifies with Grinpayne, describing the first moment of seeing the Grinning Man: ‘And then, with sudden clarity, you’re him and he is you’[15]. This phrase is later repeated by Angelica[16], which conveys the strong impression that Grinpayne makes on the royal family. Josiana, too, is drawn to him, later becoming sexually involved with him. ‘I see your heart…It bleeds like mine’[17], she sings, highlighting the comparisons she sees between them. Josiana’s gothic language here evokes Dea’s linguistic choices as have been previously discussed and indicates that Josiana’s desires cannot be satisfied by the society she lives in. As such, this eccentric royal family are all presented as being somewhat out of place and so identify with Grinpayne as the outsider.

Ultimately, many characters in The Grinning Man are, or have the potential to be, outsiders. The musical follows a cast of characters who, rich or poor, have desires beyond what their society presents them with. Even those we may consider insiders, specifically the royal family, have their own quirks. They find similarities with those who have been outcast, or choose to separate themselves from society. Musicals can allow us into the interior worlds of their characters, allowing us to empathise with those who feel out of place in society. We see ‘the outsider’s ability, or at least hope, to escape reality through dreams or dreamlike fantasy.’[18] These ‘dreams’ are evidenced by Grinpayne, Dea and Ursus’ hopes of reaching an imagined ‘new world’. Dea, Ursus and Mojo live on the periphery of society, travelling with their performance act across the country. Dirry-Moir and Josiana practically come to define themselves by their obsessions, just as Grinpayne’s fans do. Becoming more of an overt outsider is not the simplest path. For instance, in becoming obsessed with Grinpayne, Dirry-Moir is cast out and stripped of his status and literally stripped of his velvet cape. Yet, the musical highlights the eccentricity of its characters and celebrates them, with the Grinning Man rising from an agent for cruel entertainment to regaining his late father’s title. More significantly, he reunites with Dea and the pair embark on their long awaited journey to the ‘new world’. As such, the musical is evidently a celebration of outcasts, who come in many forms and who ultimately come to find acceptance and inclusion.

Sources [1] Carl Grose, Tom Morris, Tim Phillips and Marc Teitler, ‘Laughter is the Best Medicine’, in The Grinning Man: London Cast Live Recording (Bristol: Bristol Old Vic, 2018) [on CD]. [2] Ibid. [3] Grose, Morris, Phillips and Teitler, ‘I am the Freak Show’, in The Grinning Man. [4] The Grinning Man, What Makes Grinpayne Such a Relatable Character?, online video recording, YouTube, 30 November 2017, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOVHPQywQo4> [5] Grose, Morris, Phillips and Teitler, ‘The Smile in Your Face’, in The Grinning Man. [6] Grose, Morris, Phillips and Teitler, ‘Stars in the Sky’, in The Grinning Man. [7] Ibid. [8] Grose, Morris, Phillips and Teitler, ‘Born Broken’, in The Grinning Man. [9] The Grinning Man Get-Together, Bristol Old Vic, 30 April 2021. [10] Grose, Morris, Phillips and Teitler, ‘Blind to Nothing’, Genius (2021) <https://genius.com/The-grinning-man-blind-to-nothing-lyrics> [11] Giovanni Francesco Straparola, ‘The Pig King’, Genius (2021) <https://genius.com/Giovanni-francesco-straparola-the-pig-king-annotated> [12] Grose, Morris, Phillips and Teitler, ‘Laughter is the Best Medicine’, in The Grinning Man. [13] Claire Armitstead, ‘The Grinning Man Review – The Greatest Freakshow in Town’, The Guardian (2017) <https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/dec/31/grinning-man-trafalgar-studios-observer-review> [14] Grose, Morris, Phillips and Teitler, ‘Laughter is the Best Medicine’, in The Grinning Man. [15] Grose, Morris, Phillips and Teitler, ‘I Have Never Seen a Face Like This’, in The Grinning Man. [16] Grose, Morris, Phillips and Teitler, ‘The Smiling Song’, in The Grinning Man. [17] Grose, Morris, Phillips and Teitler, ‘Brand New World of Feeling’, in The Grinning Man. [18] Jim Lovensheimer, ‘Stephen Sondheim and the Musical of the Outsider’, in The Cambridge Companion to the Musical, ed. by William A. Everett and Paul R. Laird (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), pp. 181-96 (p. 182).