Its Showtime - Camberwell Arts Festival Summer 2023

 

I have been commissioned to make an animation for this years Camberwell Arts Festival with the Theme Its Showtime. You can download a copy of the festival catalogue here with information about all the events happening.

Celebrate the actors, comedians, contortionists, performers and poets who have entertained Camberwell over the years. And visit our launch party and open studio weekend to discover the incredible contemporary artists on your doorstep. In between, there will be dazzling aerial displays, riotous record shop extravaganzas, silent cinema screenings and incredible interactive installations for everyone. We hope you’ll join us! To find out more please visit www.camberwellarts.org.uk

Here is the info about my piece from the catalogue:
Sarah Doyle adds Dan Leno to her roster of Camberwell music hall legends. A local resident from 1898–1901, Leno influenced comedy legends such as Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin. He also transformed the role of pantomime dame, from minor character to the main attraction. He returned here following a nervous breakdown and was treated at Camberwell House Asylum with “peace and quiet and a little water colouring”.

Dan Leno

My animation will be a part of a trail of poster at music hall locations around Camberwell.

The latest animation incorporates a blend of rotoscope techniques, traditional animation, and strokes of watercolor painting. I have incorperated watercolour painting of the asylum where Dan Leno resided during some of his final days in Camberwell. It was here that a doctor prescribed him a remedy of “peace and quiet and a little water colouring”.

Throughout the animation, there are intertitles adorned with excerpts from Dan Leno's autobiography, accompanied by illustrations from the book. Among these, you will discover Dan's own hand-drawn creations, including a whimsical ink sketch titled "Funny Bones," humorously depicting an assortment of different bones. The soundtrack accompanying the video is a waltz known as "The Jolly Fellow's Waltz," performed by Arthur Pryor's band. I have added excerpts of Dan exclaiming, "It was very funny," which I noticed was a phrase frequently employed by him during the recorded moments of his stand-up routines.