Outlandishly funny multimedia comedy and new voodoo from the distinguished mind of the 2015 Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee, three-time 2016 Chortle Award winner and BBC Radio Four star Joseph Morpurgo, Hammerhead features surreal set-pieces, vivid comic writing, subliminal pulse signals – and monsters.
In the early 19th century, an ambitious young Genevan scientist is attempting the impossible – to build a living, breathing creature from scratch. His ‘masterpiece’, however, turns out to be an abomination: a hideous, murderous monster, who torments – and eventually destroys – his creator… Joseph Morpurgo presents his masterpiece: a boundary-smashing, 9-hour adaption of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Or is it?
Following sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Soho Theatre, Hammerhead now embarks on a nationwide tour that also includes a special one-off performance at the South Bank Centre on 5th July.
Morpurgo’s previous shows are Time Out’s Number 1 show of 2015, Soothing Sounds For Baby, in which he inserted himself into an episode of Desert Island Discs; Odessa, in which a found VHS is used as the jump-off for a comic murder mystery; and Truthmouth – a one-man sketch show based around plundered stock images.
His debut BBC Radio 4 show, Joseph Morpurgo’s Walking Tour, aired in last year. Morpurgo is also a member of the award-winning improvised ensemble Austentatious. As an improviser, he has also guest performed with The Comedy Store Players and Improbable. He also appeared in Harry & Paul’s Story of the 2s, Murder in Successville, The World of Simon Rich and Drunk History.
“Uproariously funny – you could watch it twice and not stop laughing” ★★★★
– The Guardian
“one of the funniest, most inventive shows in town” ★★★★
– Daily Mail
“A Monster hit – it crackles with energy” ★★★★
– Daily Telegraph
“Dazzling it its scope and creativity – inventively deranged and hugely enjoyable” ★★★★
– Scotsman
“This inventive show is monstrously funny” ★★★★
– London Evening Standard
“Another powerhouse performance” ★★★★★
– Chortle
“Packed with hilarious lines aided by visual multimedia gags coming at us at an extraordinary rate” ★★★★
– The List
“A beautifully crafted, energetic and supremely entertaining specimen.” ★★★★
– BroadwayBaby
Tour Dates:
2nd – 6th January 2018 Soho Theatre, London
12th – 14th March 2018 Soho Theatre, London
16th – 17th March 2018 Soho Theatre, London
3rd May 2018 The Junction, Cambridge
12th May 2018 The North Wall, Oxford
24th May 2018 The Bread Shed, Manchester
25th May 2018 The Marlowe Studio, Canterbury
26th May 2018 Wells Comedy Festival
28th May 2018 The Old Market, Brighton
8th June 2018 South Street Arts Centre, Reading
5th July 2018 Southbank Centre, London
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