Shockheaded Peter: A Junk Opera, a collaboration among British theatre artists, brought to life
Heinrich Hoffman's
classic children's book,
Struwwelpeter to the stage in 1998. Michael Morris of
Cultural Industry brought together Julian Crouch and Phelim McDermott of the
Improbable Theatre, and the
Tiger Lillies to create an evening of
Victorian gore and
mayhem. Julian Bleach, Anthony Cairns, Graeme Gilmour, Tamzin Griffin, and Jo Pocock created the show as performers and
puppeteers, with Gilmour and Crouch designing the show. Martyn Jacques was the
composer and
musical director. The show combines
puppetry,
improvisation,
melodrama,
music,
dance, and British
pantomime for a
phantasmagoria that both exposes the dark side of Victorian
morality in the home and undercuts its own seriousness with the
conceit that this
troupe of
actors isn't quite accomplished enough to pull this off. Produced in collaboration with West Yorkshire Playhouse and Lyric Theater Hammersmith, the show toured
Asia, the
United States,
Canada, and
Europe in
1999 and
2000.
Source: American Conservatory Theatre's Stagebill and http://www.shockheadedpeter.com/