Meet Cuthbert. He's a fish. He spends his days waiting...just waiting.
I made Cuthbert for Fish Pie - a macabre theatre show with puppets for the entertainment of humans. It follows the lives of Cuthbert, the tap-dancing fish, Ludwig (he's a prawn and the greatest artist living) and Myrtle the militant sea cucumber. Cuthbert is a bunraku puppet, designed to be manipulated by one-three people. He's about 4ft, has moving and blinking eyes, a moving mouth and removable glasses. He currently sits in my workshop, staring into the abyss. Photos here taken by Ulysses Black, David Bull.
Ludwig
Ludwig is an neoholistic-postpsuedo-deconstructivisationalismist.
Ludwig was made for Fish Pie. Ludwig is the greatest living artist on the planet and he is also a prawn. His work consists of kicking things over...and then picking them up. Ludwig is strapped-on-the-feet puppet, almost 6ft tall and has independently blinking eyes, a moving moustache and mouth. He is designed to be manipulated by two puppeteers. He can also smoke real-life puppet cigerettes, who also in turn, come to life. Photos by Ulysses Black and David Bull.
MyRtle
'...it is with a heavy gonad that I deliver this news to you..."
Myrtle was made for Fish Pie. She is a sea cucumber. And she is on a one-sea-cucumber-woman mission to emancipate baby sea cucumbers (gherkins) all over the world. She is arguebly the stealthiest criminal mastermind in the country. Other heists include stealing eminent paintings and going on Blind Date to find a criminal side-kick. She is a puppet/costume hybrid, designed to be operated by two puppeteers. She has moving eyes, a tiny little moving mouth and with human hands in hers is able to move elegantly and aptly around a space. Photos by Oleg Pulemjotov and Richard Davenport.
ensemble
Some of the ensemble cast from Fish Pie including Sarge - the police shark with in-built siren; Daisy - the news reporting crab; a new reading fish; police seagulls who eat a lot of doughnuts; Maude - a sweet waterflea who's company is second to none; a stage managing Jellyfish and Clarence and Milton - the highly-respected art critics. Plus miniature versions of Cuthbert, Ludwig and Myrtle. Photos by Ulysses Black.
