You are in The Pierrotters
The Pierrotters
They do like to be beside the Seaside
Blackpool's name spells magic, holidays and the seaside, and entertainment. There have always been big shows aplenty, but the Pierrots, along with Punch & Judy, were the embodiment of small theatre, performing alfresco and on the piers. Black-faced Pierrots at Blackpool were first seen on the beach at Starr Gate in the 1890s, and Uncle Tom's Cabin at Bispham was a home for minstrelsy until it fell into the sea. There were troupes at Raikes Hall Gardens and, around 1900, the White Coons (white-faced Pierrot entertainers) were formed, on a pitch at Harrowside. Their successors in Blackpool included Sam Hague's Minstrels at the Indian Theatre on North Pier, Bobby Alandale's Premier Pierrots, Wylie-Tate's Super Pierrots, and Tom Vernon's Royal Pierrots on Central Pier.
These troupes were both contemporary and anarchic, family fun with a topicality born of the fact that all shows were live! The seaside Pierrot troupes were public property and were expected to fulfil certain expectations - they had to be smart, charming and available at all times. They were expected to perform whenever the management required (up to five times a day), in all weathers (if wet under the pier!) and certainly not to greet girlfriends or loved ones in public. They were the Boyzone and Take That and of their age!
The Pierrotters were formed in Brighton in 1983 and named after the rotting West Pier whose restoration they continue to support. Tony Lidington's troupe comprises Uncle Tacko, Boy Gacko, Shabby Shabacko, McFacko and Smiley Smacko. The Pierrotters combine whimsical nostalgia with contemporary buffoonery - traditional vaudeville songs such as The Sun Has Got His Hat On and Music Hall recitations such as The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God with adaptations of rock classics such as Slade's Cum On Feel the Noize. They continue a proud tradition of outdoor theatre: performing normally for two hours between noon and five at a festival, on the pier, at a fun day, in the park or on the streets.
The Pierrotters performed at the inauguartion of the National Theatre of Variety at the Grand Theatre: in A Cavalcade of Variety on Saturday 18 February 2006. Director Tony Lidington also gave the Prologue at this performance - as Joseph Grimaldi, the Father of Clowning.
www.prom-prom.com/pierrotters/
This page contains a video, being an introduction to the troupe, produced with the assistance of English Heritage for an education project and touring exhibition in 2007.
Contact The Pierrotters:
Prom-Prom
8 Ashdowne Place
Manningham
Bradford
BD8 8AL
Telephone: 01274 546177
