From the creators of Boris & Sergey comes a one-hour, one-man show brimming with puppetry, physical comedy, and mime. Hilarious, absurd, and often magical, this captivating performance juxtaposes themes of loneliness and belonging with pure joy and exhilaration. With pathos, dark humour, and Victorian aesthetics, it creates a wonderfully mysterious backdrop for a poetic and surreal journey – all with a generous sprinkle of silliness.
Ahead of the shows at Jackson Lane we caught up with writer and performer Henry Maynard to learn more.
What can you tell me about Tatterdemalion?
Tatterdemalion is a one man non language-based comedy show utilising puppetry, physical comedy and mime. It is a joyful hour of entertainment with soul. it is multi award winning and attracted reviews saying things like this:
‘a gloriously silly hour of physical comedy and beautiful imagery’… ‘well-conceived and gloriously satisfying’… ‘performed with spellbinding precision’… ‘endless ideas and unrestricted creativity firing on every cylinder, Maynard and his company have created a beautiful theatrical creature’ A Younger Theatre
What inspired the creation of the show?
Tatterdemalion means man in ragged cloathging, I was inspired by the archetype of the tramp clown, the silent clowns, Chaplin, Lloyd, Keaton and by some of the shows that I saw at the Edinburgh Fringe.
I love vintage items so I bought a steamer trunk and built the show around the props that inspired my most absurd sensibilities, creating vignettes and small narratives that tickled my audiences the most, it grew organically and we sculpted it over many years of touring to create what the show has become.
How do you approach engaging an audience when you’re not using words?
It is amazing how well humans are able to use non-verbal communication, we place a lot of focus on language which is great for philosophy, but basic feelings and archetypal themes go a long way… in a way it encourages the audience to invest more energy into the piece which results in a collaborative experience.
How key does the bond with the audience become when you are performing a solo show?
With clowning as taught by Gaulier is it utterly key, sensitivity and vulnerability are at the heart of the clown, these allow the audience to let down their guard and really enter the world on stage. It is important that we create a safe and delightful place for the humour and connection to thrive.
The show forms part of the London Clown Festival, how important an event do you think this remains?
We set up the Clown Festival to provide a grass roots platform for the various performers that we saw and worked with, it was and remains an important date in the calendar for both audiences and performers that enjoy the work, we started in a tent in a carpark and through hard work we have created an annual opportunity that is supported by some of the most exciting venues in London.
How did you get into clowing?
I became interested in physical comedy and clowning after seeing shows up in Edinburgh in 2011, one particular show ‘All wear bowlers’ really inspired me to look further into the work of Lecoq, Gaulier, and into theatrical styles such as Commedia Dell’Arte. I trained with the Dr. Brown AKA Phil Burgers and the next step was to create my own solo. I wanted to avoid text to heighten my physicality and so that it was a show that was accessible to D/Deaf and Hard of hearing and would work well with international audiences.
What would your advice be to anyone who wanted to get into clowning?
Workshops are a great soft launch, there are plenty of great teachers out there (myself amongst them) but nothing will teach you quicker than doing it in front of a real audience. You will never know if your material works unless you can get strangers to come with you. It that regard it is like stand up and shows need to be honed in front of people.
What would you hope someone takes away from seeing Tatterdemalion?
I hope that people will be truly entertained, I hope that they will belly laugh, and I hope that they will also feel armed by the soul in the play.
Where can people see the show?
Jacksons Lane on the 1st and 3rd of July.
Tickets are available from https://www.jacksonslane.org.uk/events/tatterdemalion/
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