The Grinning Man announces West End run

British musical The Grinning Man, which debuted at Bristol Old Vic last year, has announced it will run at Trafalgar Studios from 5 December.

Directed by Tom Morris (War Horse), artistic director at Bristol Old Vic, the new musical is based on the novel The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo, and is about a new act at the Stokes Croft fair – a hideously beautiful man.

In our review of last year's show, Matt Trueman called it 'dark and stylish, it has the best British score in years'. The show was also nominated for Best Regional Production at the WhatsOnStage Awards.

Louis Maskell (Fiddler on the Roof) and Julian Bleach (Shockheaded Peter), who starred in the show's original production, will return for the West End transfer, which will have an open-ended run. The remainder of the cast is to be announced.

It features music from Tim Phillips and Marc Teitler with lyrics by Carl Grose, Morris, Phillips and Teitler.

The Grinning Man runs at Trafalgar Studios from 18 December, with previews from 5 December.