Colwyn Bay postcard: Harlequin Puppet Theatre
This postcard on the promenade at Rhos-on-Sea depicts a puppet at the nearby Harlequin Puppet Theatre, which opened in 1958 as the British Puppet Centre.
It was the first permanent puppet theatre to be built in Britain. It was conceived by Eric Bramall, a pioneer in British puppetry. He had amassed a collection of 400 puppets, which were known as the Eric Bramall Marionettes. Most had been designed and made by Eric himself.
They covered the four main types of puppet: ones operated by string or by rod, glove puppets and shadow puppets (2D puppets shown in silhouette against a bright background). They performed on piers and on television, and in theatres, music halls, clubs, colleges and department stores.
The puppet theatre’s opening ceremony on 7 July 1958 included three marionette presentations: Way Down South, The Japanese Print and Marionette Cabaret. The photos, courtesy of Conwy Archive Service, show the newly opened building and children enjoying a puppet show in the 1950s.
In 1959 the building won a Civic Trust Award. The judging panel was chaired by architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis CBE, famous for Portmeirion village, near Porthmadog.
You can read more about the theatre and Eric Bramall on our page about the theatre.
Postcode: LL28 4EP
Click here for a map of the postcards' location.
Website of Conwy Archive Service
https://www.conwy.gov.uk/en/Resident/Libraries-Museums-and-Archives/Archives/Archives.aspx
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