2001

This was a year when we noticed a significant dip in our bookings, especially at the traditional seasides. Bexhill led the way in stating that entertainments such as Punch & Judy and pierrot troupes were old-fashioned – the vogue was increasingly for the new and/or spectacular stuff. It was also the year of a major foot and mouth epidemic throughout the UK, which limited much travel in and around the countryside. We noticed a large number of European and Australian acts on the scene, which the larger festivals tended to programme and a lot of smaller-scale walkabouts for the town and countryside events. In addition, those events with smaller budgets would often opt for Poppets Puppets rather than The Pierrotters, with the result that the act was squeezed both externally and internally. Inevitably, this led to friction in the troupe.

City events such as Bradford, Cardiff and Liverpool booked us and we were invited to perform at Parque das Nações (Expo Park), Lisbon, where once again The Pierrotters played well and hard, forging further international friendships. However, once the season ended, Sir Squacko decided to leave and so once again we undertook auditions and found a young director/guitarist working at Bradford’s mind…the gap theatre company, who joined us and became known as ‘Smiley Smacko’ because of the dazzling brilliance of his wide, wide smile.