#182 A shrine to my childhood
Goblins. Lions. Teletubbies. Oh my.
27 AUGUST 2025
Greetings from Improfestival Karlsruhe.
Lovely to be back at work and with the most wonderful group of friends and collaborators imaginable.
Six days and eighteen improv shows. It truly feels like an embarrassment of riches.
And it’s particularly bittersweet because I’ve made the decision to travel MUCH less next year (so that I can focus on building The Pretend Company here in the UK).
So I’m currently making the absolute most of this oasis of inspiration and artistry.
Rule of one
[Maker] Niki Lyons
Quick story time. There’s a house in my town, converted from an old chapel. It’s well-located and beautifully designed with an incredibly spacious and airy living space and a striking red wrought iron spiral staircase leading to a mezzanine bedroom level.
I want to live there so much.
This week, Laura and I were walking past and the woman who owns it was working in the garden. Laura, being her charming and affable self, struck up a conversation with her and before I knew it, we were being invited inside to have a look around.
This is the sort of thing that happens when you’re married to Laura.
Anyway, not only was the house amazing but it was seemingly filled to bursting with costumes, puppets and creatures from 1980s/90s films and TV shows.
It felt like a shrine to my childhood.
It turned out that the woman who owned the house was Niki Lyons - an artist and maker who had worked closely with Jim Henson for much of her life. She has designed and built the following:
The Skeksis from The Dark Crystal
The Goblin Riders from Labyrinth
Aslan in the original BBC version of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
The entire family in the sitcom Dinosaurs
The Milk Carton in Blur’s music video for Coffee & TV
The giant lifesize puppets in Supergrass’ Pumping on your Stereo
And, most surreally, she’s the woman that built all four of the original MOTHER-FLIPPING TELETUBBIES.
I am in actual awe. Have a click through some of those links and tell me the woman isn’t a genius of the highest order.
Absolutely iconic!
As I left, I made sure to tell her how much joy her work had brought me throughout my life. It was a really special moment and came completely out of the blue.
Here’s to more yes and adventures in real life.
Spotlight
I’m now in a couple of shows at the Robin Hood International Improv Festival next week. If you’re around come and see me in:
Just Another Yesterday, 6pm, Friday 5th September
Maestro, 8.30pm, Friday 5th September
You can also see Laura in All Request Radio at 7.30pm on Wednesday 3rd September. AND talking of Radios, loyal improv hound Radio H. Mead will be in attendance from Wednesday to Friday and available for skritches and belly rubs upon request.
Movement for change
I decided to play a character last night that was pulling a rope hanging from the ceiling in the manner of a bell ringer. By the end of the show I had done upwards of fifty bodyweight squats on stage. Friends, today I can’t feel my thighs.
Radio contact
I miss his little face.