Shockheaded Peter

Long before The Simpsons and South Park, Tim Burton and Edward Gorey, there was Heinrich Hoffman, a doctor in a German lunatic asylum who, in 1844, wrote a children’s book of original tales warning of absurd punishments for naughty acts. The book, entitled The Struwwelpeter, is a classic collection of delightful horrors for all ages.

An instant classic in its own right, the stage production of SHOCKHEADED PETER has winning rave reviews around the world as one of the most original collaborations of its kind.

SHOCKHEADED PETER is the collective nightmare of the visionary direction and design team of Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch (co-founders of London's Improbable Theatre) and the underworld's favorite cabaret act, The Tiger Lillies, led by the bizarre and beautiful falsetto of Martyn Jacques. Set in a distorted Victorian toy theater, SHOCKHEADED PETER evokes a lost world of theatrical illusion-a music box spinning out of control; an advent calendar with a different lunatic waiting behind every door.

So sweet, so sinister, and so completely outrageous, SHOCKHEADED PETER is a hilarious black comedy for sophisticated children, their dreadful parents, and anyone who has ever sucked their thumb.

One of the most widely embraced theatrical events of its season, SHOCKHEADED PETER was launched in North America in the fall of 1999 culminating in a three-week sold out limited run in New York City. Hit runs in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and San Francisco followed in the spring of 2000.

In February 2001, SHOCKHEADED PETER opened on London's West End at the Piccadilly Theatre and then returned to North America in fall 2001 for runs in Ann Arbor, Chicago and Seattle, winning two 2002 Olivier Awards for Best Entertainment and Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical or Entertainment.