Why ‘The Gritterman’ could take over from ‘The Snowman’ at Christmas
Alice Vincent meets the indie rocker behind a heartbreaking new seasonal show
Each year, choosing which Christmas show to see can feel like dusting off the tree decorations. There’s the pantos with familiar faces, a dozen different versions of A Christmas Carol and, of course, the ballet version of The Snowman, which is celebrating its 21st year on stage this week.
But there is another offering this time around that evokes the Christmas spirit, while avoiding cliché, mawkish sentiment, and Christopher Biggins. The Gritterman, which has been described as “extraordinary and original” by none other than Raymond Briggs himself, is set on Christmas Eve and tells the tale of an elderly widower who grits the roads in a specially adapted ice cream van.
While he does so, he reflects on the elements, his pride in keeping the roads safe, his late wife (whom he misses for “her funny ways” and “her turn of phrase”) and “those babies about to wake up and scream on their first Christmas morning”.
It is a portrait of human life that is both melancholy (the council has told him that, after this shift, his services will no longer be required) and uplifting, and accompanied by a collection of lilting, atmospheric songs that blend perfectly with the narration.
Orlando Weeks, the author and illustrator of the book on which the show is based and the composer of its soundtrack, says the project satisfied a long-held craving to “make something quiet”.
“When I was young, a cab driver said my name sounded like someone who would write books,” he says. “I was not a great reader, so I took that to mean draw for books. And that’s what I did all through university. Then the band happened.”
That band was The Maccabees, the chart-topping indie group that won an Ivor Novello Award and enjoyed consistent critical acclaim before splitting up last year. Weeks was the frontman. In a matter of months, he went from bowing out on stage to thousands of tearful fans to presenting The Gritterman stage show at London’s Union Chapel.
It was a low-key premiere, but a spectacular one, featuring Paul Whitehouse as the titular narrator and Weeks’s falsetto vocals backed by a full band and choir. When the show ended, there was a standing ovation.
Whitehouse returns this year, lending his gruff north London tones to a tweaked show that Whitehouse believes has every chance of becoming a Christmas staple.
“I loved the artwork immediately,” Whitehouse says of the book, which was published last year. “And the music and lights are transporting... I had always hoped that the piece would become an essential part of winter.”
As for casting, Weeks says the Fast Show star is integral to the project, partly because his work is appreciated across the generations. He insists The Gritterman is a picture book not limited to children, a gig not limited to Maccabees fans, and a story that has universal appeal.
Is it strange to be embarking on a new career after so long in a band?
“Yes, I suppose so,” he says. “It was such a huge part of my life.” But, equally, the 35-year-old, who grew up in south London and studied illustration at Brighton University, says the rigours of rock ’n’ roll took him away from some of his other artistic passions for too long. He is currently working on another illustrated book and next year will see the release of new songs.
But there’s still work to be done on The Gritterman, namely, animating it, which Weeks believes would perfectly bring together music, image and narrative. His illustrations and the novel approach to a festive story could make it a modern equivalent of Briggs’s The Snowman, which was televised on Boxing Day 1982 by Channel 4. Perhaps The Gritterman could one day fill that slot, I suggest.
“That’s it!” Weeks says, eyes widening. “I’d love that. But we’d have to find the right way. If we’re going to do it, I don’t want to fluff it.”
The Gritterman is at Union Chapel December 10 and 11 (unionchapel.org.uk) and Albert Hall Manchester December 12 (alberthallmanchester.com). To watch an exclusive live video of When All Is Said
And Done from last year’s performance, head to telegraph.co.uk/video