Hanging from pegs in the dimly lit storeroom, it’s as though the smiling puppets have turned to see who is coming through the door.
It seems like you are invading their home as you pass along the lines of colourful characters.
But from tomorrow they are being evicted. An auction is taking place at the Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) in Edgbaston and the huge family of puppets is being split up and handed over to the highest bidders. Puppeteers UK is organising the auction in conjunction with MAC.
“The puppets at MAC were built over a period of 25 years from the 1960s through to the 1990s for Cannon Hill Puppet Company,” said Clive Chandler, chairman of Puppeteers UK.
He said all the puppets were designed and hand-made by John Blundall, who created the Thunderbirds character Parker.
“When the puppet theatre closed in 1996, John wanted to have the puppets to form part of his vast collection,” said Mr Chandler.
“An agreement couldn’t be reached and so instead the puppets were put into MAC’s basement and not brought out again.
“But now we have told John he can take the puppets he wants, and the rest will be sold off.”
Mr Blundall is taking 80 puppets back up to Glasgow with him and 260 will be going into the auction.
“John had always lived in Birmingham but moved up to Glasgow when he couldn’t find anywhere in the Midlands to show his work,” said Mr Chandler.
“However, the Mitchell Library in Glasgow agreed to exhibit his puppets and so all these wonderful puppets, which were created in the West Midlands, have been won by Scotland. It is also a shame that these puppets couldn’t have been exhibited in the West Midlands.”
Items in the auction include rod and string puppets and there will also be a chance to buy puppet accessories, such as masks.
“The Cannon Hill Puppet Company was very popular and Tony Robinson was even a member in the 1960s,” said Mr Chandler.
“They put on several wonderful plays and played to thousands of children around the world, they were very popular in China and Japan.”
Registration and viewing for tomorrow’s auction starts at 9am in the dance studio at MAC. The auction will be in the cinema, next to the theatre at 11am and finishes at 2pm.
Puppet prices will range from around £30 up to about £500 and any money raised will go towards the MAC’s £13.6 million refurbishment. Admission to the auction is by ticket only, which costs £5 and includes a catalogue. Tickets are available by calling 0121 440 3838.
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