If anyone needs help and truly deserves it in these troubled times, it is certainly Chris Somerville and the Harlequin Puppet Theatre. Overlooking beautiful Colwyn Bay at Rhos-on-sea in Wales the theatre is Britian’s first puppet theatre that entertained countless people over the years.

In the early days, Chris and his partner Eric along with Eric’s mother operated the theatre, but later when Eric and his mother died, Chris continued to keep the theatre in operation by himself. 

Over the years (and through times of adversity such as a recent destructive fire, and now the pandemic) he has maintained the theatre alone and without any outside financial assistance. 

In addition to the tremendous effort of keeping the theatre open and running, Chris performs a traveling Punch and Judy and magic show in Wales and throughout the U.K. as Mr. Bimbamboozle and also maintains a time-honored website chronicling the history of Punch and Judy and English puppetry. 

The message board on the site has been a gathering place over many years for puppetry enthusiasts young and old, supporting in-depth discussions, sharing of ideas and puppet history.

There is much, much more information about Chris and the history of the Harlequin Puppet Theatre online. But if you’d like to help the Harlequin Theatre please visit this Crowd Funder site and contribute.

– Greg Pellone -- puppet collector and frequent contributor to Puppetry International.