Shockheaded Peter

Synopsis

Based on the gothic stories and illustrations of Struwwelpeter penned in 1844 by a German doctor, Heinrich Hoffman. A junk opera. Shockheaded Peter and his unruly band of wicked youths have horrified and fascinated generations of young people since appearing as Struwwelpeter in 1884. In a pop-up, musical-box modern staging, weird and wonderful tales come to life in an errie and spine-tingling variety show of illusions, puppetry and music.

Our Review:

12 April 2002

Note: The following review dates from February 2001 and this production's first West End run at the Piccadilly Theatre. For current details, please see performance listings.

The promoters call Shockheaded Peter rather succinctly a “junk opera”. I’d call it a cross between the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and the Brothers Grimm.

The show is inspired by the 1844 “Struwwelpeter” stories of Heinrich Hoffman, a German doctor wanting a better class of children’s book for his three-year-old son. Pity the poor son, who must have been reduced to a quivering mass hiding beneath the bedsheets upon hearing these gothic, cautionary tales about “naughty” children.

But all the better for us, 150-odd years later – because the source material, incredibly for its darkness, yields a fascinating and, yes, hilarious, evening’s entertainment at the hands of co-directors Phelim McDermott and [J...

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Latest User Review

USER: Whatsonstage.com (195.93.34.14) - 18 April 2004:

Great show (as below) but this revival has been fiddled with too much. Well worth seeing anyway. JTP ...

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