Shockheaded Peter

Children are the future but children are naughty. How shall we teach them to behave? Perhaps tell them the stories of those who did not. Awful things happen to children who do not behave. 

Before Wonka's Chocolate Factory of Doom there was Struwwelpeter. German psychologist Heinrich Hoffman had written his son a series of "funny stories." Each followed a child who broke a rule and suffered a disproportionate fate. He published them in 1845 to bring laughter to the children of the world. 

In 1998 the Tiger Lillies, a British punk trio, premiered the stage adaptation. The children's stories were are told but the title characters story was adapted to shift blame to the narcissistic parents. Lead singer Martyn Jacques was surprised to learn the show made him popular with children. In a 2016 interview with The Australian he said: “Kids love me... They are not usually allowed to see me, but when they do they absolutely love me. They look at me and go, ‘Ooh, he’s bad’ — the rare misbehaving adult. I mean, adults tend to be a bit boring really — they behave themselves and have boring conversations. Children love it when you misbehave. And I am known to be a little naughty.”