The Grinning Man raises money for Theatre MAD in special performance for West End friends performers and colleagues.
On March 6, The Grinning Man put on a unique performance raising money for the charity TheatreMad (the Make A Difference Trust) at Trafalgar Studios. Casts and crews from 16 other West End productions accepted the invitation to attend the one-off performance .
The star-studded audience was captured in a giant group selfie taken from the stage. Productions represented at the performance included : 5 Guys Named Moe, The Birthday Party, Dreamgirls, Fat Friends, 42nd Street, Billy Elliot, The Book Of Mormon Girl From The North Country, Kinky Boots, Les Miserables, Phantom Of The Opera, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Hamilton, The Lion King, Mamma Mia, and Young Frankenstein.
The Make a Difference Trust raises funds for HIV and AIDS projects that build awareness and provide care, support and education in the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Louis Maskell, who plays Grinpayne in The Grinning Man said: “The whole cast was thrilled to see that so many of our friends and colleagues in the theatre community came out to support the fantastic charity Theatre MAD, to support us, and to see a production they don’t have the chance to because they’re working!”
Based on the classic Victor Hugo (Les Misérables) novel The Man Who Laughs, this romantic gothic musical love story set in a fantastical world with a dark heart, is brought to life by Kneehigh writer Carl Grose (Dead Dog in a Suitcase) and “powered by an outstanding score” (Sunday Times) by Tim Phillips and Marc Teitler. The Grinning Man reunites Tom Morris with two puppeteers who began their careers inside Joey and Topthorn in the original production of War Horse – Finn Caldwell and Toby Olié – now leading their own puppetry company Gyre & Gimble.
