Marcus Clarke is a British puppeteer and voice actor. He is best known as the puppeteer and voice actor behind the BAFTA-winning CITV series Bookaboo and the principal puppeteer of Audrey II in the 1986 version of Little Shop of Horrors. Clarke has worked as a puppeteer in over 60 television series and has created a similar number of puppets. He was also a puppeteer and voice actor in two Muppet feature films and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
History Marcus Clarke was born in Forest Gate, East London. He spent several years in Canada, Care and in NCH orphanages before being settled in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire where he left West Bridgford School, his local comprehensive school with no qualifications. After a series of jobs behind the scenes in theatres, he became stage manager in a West End production of Little Shop Of Horrors, where he looked after Audrey II – the giant plant. He became interested in the art of puppetry. Clarke went on to audition for Jim Henson's TV Puppeteering Workshop, where he befriended Brian Henson.
Inspired in part by Henson, he and his partner, Helena Smee, formed a puppet creation company, "Hands Up Puppets", in 1986. To date, they have created more than 60 puppets and worked as puppeteers on a similar number of UK television series.
Recent work Bookaboo, 2009 BAFTA-award-winning kids' television series has Clarke puppeteering a "rock puppy" who is unable to play the drums before one of his friends has read him a story. Designed to back the 2008 National Year of Reading campaign, Bookaboo's friends are celebrities such as Meat Loaf and David Seaman.
Since 2009, Clarke has been working on new projects, teaching puppetry classes and working with charities. He created a short film with young people at Clayfields House, a secure children's home in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire. Clarke is also on the Board of Funny Wonders Inc, a community interest company, co-organisers of the Buxton Puppet Festival.
Since 2010 Clarke has also been an exhibiting contemporary artist. He created the art movement Puppet TV Graffiti to encompass his new art and craft of puppetisation and began creating and exhibiting puppetised contemporary artworks. Exhibitions and hangings include.
2015 The DogHorse Coat Art Exhibition. Floor 1 Gallery, Nottingham Central Library, 2–28 Feb 2015
2014 Homeless in the Puppetised City Art Exhibition, one man show, Nottingham. 13x works and video.
2014 Surface Gallery International Postcard Show 1x postcard work.Artmajeur
2012 FAB Fringe Arts Bath 2012. Mis-in-Formation. 3x works exhibited. Curator Diana Ali.
2011 Surface Gallery Nottingham 'Salon des Refuse's' 2x works exhibited.
1977 Mansfield College of Art. Various.
Awards Clarke has been nominated for and won a number of awards, including two BAFTAs for Pre-school Live Action. The first was in 2004 for PJ's Storytime and the second in 2009 for Bookaboo. Bookaboo went on to win Best Children's Programme at the Broadcast Awards. and its category at the Prix Jeuness International. Clarke was also Milky Cat in The Christmas Milkshake Show nominated in the same category in 2009. The young people in Clarke's puppet film, Clayfields House, won two writing awards from the Koestler Trust. He was listed as one of the "prominent people in Nottinghamshire" in 2010 at the Nottinghamshire Archives.
Filmography Film YearRoleFilm1985 Audrey II principal puppeteer Little Shop Of Horrors1988 Various puppeteering Who Framed Roger Rabbit1992 Additional Muppet performer (voice), various puppeteering The Muppet Christmas Carol1996 Additional Muppet performer (voice), various puppeteeringMuppet Treasure Island
Television YearShowCharacterLocation/Company1986 The Storyteller Devil The Jim Henson Company1987 Monster Maker Ultragorgan, little Gorgan The Jim Henson Company1987 Playbox Dog and Cat Ragdoll Productions1989 Hotdog/Treasure Box Hotdog Thames Television1990 Dappledown Farm Dapple, Millie, Stubble Clear Idea Television1991 Tricky Business Crabtree BBC Television1995 Children's Channel On-Air Presentation Void the Android, Hopper, Dreeb Starstream Productions1996 WoW Sid ITV1997 Venus on the Hard Drive Venus Fox Broadcasting Company1997 Here's Johnny Chimes Johnny Chimes NBC1998 Dottie and Buzz Buzz Prospect Pictures1999 Tickle Patch and Friends (Series 1) Patch Channel 51999 Tenth Kingdom Bird Carnival Films1999 Big Bag Bag Sesame Workshop2002 SMarteenies Doogy Dog CBeebies2000 The 10th KingdomBird2003 The Softies Cosy Channel 52003 PJ's Bedtime PJ Playhouse Disney2003 A House That's Just Like Yours Dusty Channel 52004 PJ's Storytime PJ Playhouse Disney2005 Sandy and Mr. Flapper Mr. Flapper Two Hand Productions2004 a Milkshake! Christmas Patch Channel 52005 Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway Ant Vent Granada Television2006–2007 Tickle Patch and Friends 1 & 2 Patch Two Hand Productions2007–2008 The Milkshake! Show Milky Channel 52008, 2010 Bookaboo (series 1 and 2) Bookaboo ITV2009 Producer Director and performer Clayfields House Film2009 This Morning Body Guard, Minder, Bouncer, Heavy ITV2009 Monkey Salty Ticketmaster Channel 52010 BBC Learning Zone Puppetry Consultant GameLab London
References
External links YouTube: Puppeteering Clips