The Harlequin Puppet Theatre – A Brief History

“After the opening of Britain’s first puppet theatre at Colwyn Bay yesterday Mr Eric Bramall, father of the project, said that it was really a gigantic folly the likes of which had never been seen, even in the heyday of puppetry”

This was the beginning of one of many newspaper articles reporting on the opening of the Harlequin Puppet Theatre in 1958 and now, decades later, this ‘gigantic folly’ is still here and as enchanting as ever.

Eric Bramall began his puppetry career performing in the park of his hometown of Wallasey and on the pier in New Brighton. This, coupled with extensive tours following the variety circuit around the country, kept him very busy and consistently in demand. Such was the novelty of a puppeteer with imagination and artistry combined with expert skill in marionette manipulation.

In the early 1950’s Eric was approached by Colwyn Bay Council about the possibility of performing his show at their pier pavilion. Eric accepted and the resulting show was an instant success, with chairs having to be brought in from the adjoining cafes to cope with the crowds. Due to his popularity they later offered him a permanent space, the bandstand in Colwyn Bay’s Eirias park, a substantial domed permanent structure, it sat prominently alongside the boating lake. The ‘Theatre’ itself became the open front on which Eric set up his touring stage, the auditorium a long-tented structure which housed the audience, naturally raked on a grassy bank. Eric was very happy here, assisted by his mother for each performance he forged a following from both locals and holiday makers that returned year on year to see what new production he had created.

The performances at Eirias park continued from 1951 until 1956, when in their wisdom, the local council decided to move the theatre to Rhos Point at the northern end of Rhos-on-Sea, the small seaside town next to Colwyn Bay. The council were keen to attract more visitors to this area of the coastline and felt the marionettes would be a certain way to do this. Eric’s loyal audiences did follow, but the situation was far from positive. The wooden structure that they had built for Eric to perform from was not suitable, with little space and poorly designed, Eric nicknamed it ‘The rabbit hutch’. It was a far cry from the harmony at Eirias Park but the council refusing to admit they were wrong would not agree for him to move back. Stalemate ensued and a result Eric decided, despite having now moved to the area with his parents, that his performing licence would not be renewed. Although a return to New Brighton, and at one point Bournemouth, were possible Eric was keen to stay in the area, but this time without any reliance on the council and its bureaucrats. A stance he would maintain throughout the rest of his career. As a result Eric began to look locally for a suitable venue he could rent for a theatre, he looked at various empty buildings including a church but none were suitable. It became increasingly likely that he would have to move. That is until a local friend who had become an ardent fan of Eric and his puppets came up with a rather radical suggestion.

Millicent Ford lived on the sea front at Rhos-on-Sea in a large house called Aberhod. Eric’s mother had become friends with Millies’s mother Jessie, and as a result Millie had begun to watch Erics shows and at times help. When it was clear Eric had resigned himself to not finding a venue to house his performances Millie suggested he build one. Eric acknowledged this nice idea but asked where would he do that, ‘In my garden’ she responded and at that point the plans for Britain’s first permanent puppet theatre began.

Once a specific plot had been discussed and negotiated things moved at great speed. Architects drew up plans based on Eric’s quite specific ideas (Eric had himself trained to be an architect) and a range of local craftsman were engaged to bring those ideas to reality. The actual building, clearly influenced by the Festival of Britain at which Eric performed, is an unusual structure made up of glass, wood and stone salvaged from the row of small derelict cottages that stood on the land. Whilst the shape of the building and the foyer were quite modern in design for 1958, the auditorium created a different ambiance. With its sharply raked seats, each with optimum viewing of the puppet stage, you are transported to a faux renaissance period. With its arched gold ceiling, tall pillars adorned with reliefs and a set of eight murals that depict Italianesque gardens on the edge of a lake, all painted by Eric in the week before opening, the auditorium is full of fantasy. The official invite confirmed that ‘the first permanent puppet theatre in Britain’, was to open at 3pm on the 7th July 1958 by Sir Clayton Russon OBE, the then president of the Festival of Wales.

The building of the theatre caused quite a stir. By some it was considered foolish to build any kind of theatre in the late 1950’s when most theatres had either closed or been converted to bingo halls. For others, who weren’t so pessimistic, there was excitement that a theatre designed and built for the sole purpose of performing marionettes could even be contemplated let alone built.

With a range of stock productions that had been developed over a number of years for Eirias park, Eric as director and chief puppeteer and Eric’s mother and Millie Ford as the supporting puppeteers the theatre was equipped to start shows throughout the upcoming summer season and beyond. With performances each day at 3pm aimed at families and on some evenings aimed for adults, the theatre very quickly became a success and with no local authority support or grants, box office sales were the key to its long term survival.

Shortly after the opening, Eric’s mothers’ health began to deteriorate and as a result she had to step back from performing. She was replaced quite quickly by a young puppeteer just back from his national service. Chris Somerville had got to know Eric through visiting his shows regularly during its seasons in the park. He spent many hours chatting to Eric and learning the puppetry craft. This informal training stood him in good stead to join the company and very quickly made himself an invaluable performer.

In total fifty-six different productions were produced and performed at the Harlequin, these included twenty-five plays, four operas, nine ballets and eighteen variety shows, a tremendous achievement for any theatre. It was this variation in productions that kept loyal audiences returning year after year eager to see the latest new show, or to recall an old favourite from the repertoire. However, by the 1970’s the once regular summer tourists had changed their patterns of holidaying and the lure of cheaper foreign holidays meant that numbers to the area gradually declined. In order to maintain the annual income additional seasons were added to align to the school half term holidays and with Eric and Chris agreeing to an increasing numbers of television engagements and several years of entertaining on cruise ships it ensured that the Harlequin remained open and financially supported.

In 1996 Eric sadly passed away, although totally unexpected Chris was determined that the Harlequin must continue. The range of shows had already been adapted many years earlier for two puppeteers, Chris set about adapting these further to allow for just one puppeteer to perform comfortably. In addition to the performance Chris would also sell the tickets, show people to their seats and sell the ice creams at the interval. He too supported the Harlequin financially through his Punch and Judy and Magic shows that he would perform at Childrens parties and fetes. This dedication ensured the Harlequin continued for another 26 years, allowing a new generation to witness its magic. Chris Somerville sadly passed away in January 2023. What he left was the continuation of a legacy that Eric Bramall created. A unique and important theatre that still to this day generates a gasp from those entering its chandelier lit auditorium.

On July 7th 2023, the theatres 65th birthday, the Harlequin Puppet Theatre was granted ‘Grade 2 Listed Building’ status. Cadw, the department of the Welsh Government for historic buildings said “The Harlequin Puppet Theatre has been listed for its special architectural and historic interest as an extremely rare example of a purpose-built puppet theatre. The theatre is an unusual piece of post-war architecture with great historic interest” – not bad for a ‘gigantic folly’.