Forkbeard Fantasy is a British multimedia arts company, based in Devon. It began as an experimental performance art group in 1974, founded by brothers Chris and Tim Britton.
Between 1974 and 2010 it made touring theatre productions, largely performed by Chris and Tim. In 1979, they were joined by Penny Saunders, a designer and maker, who went on to create most of Forkbeard's extravagant costumes and props. In the late 1980s they were also joined by Ed Jobling who became a core cast member and the company's technical wizard. Forkbeard continued to create interactive exhibitions, specially commissioned exhibits, short animation films as well performing one-off 'Brittonioni' shows and getting involved in a wide range of community based events until finally dissolving the company in 2024. Lyn Gardner, reviewing The Colour of Nonsense (2010) in The Guardian, described the company as long having had a "mixture of madness and creativity".
Touring theatre productions The Rubber God Show, 1975 The Government Warning Show, 1976 Men Only, 1977 The Cranium Show, 1978 On An Uncertain Insect, 1979 The Clone Show, 1980 Springtime, 1982 The Brontosaurus Show, 1983 Plants, Vampires and Crazy Kings 1985 Myth, 1986 Hypochondria, 1987 A Serious Leak, 1989 Invasion of the Bloopies, 1991 The Little Match Girl, 1994 The Fall of the House of Usherettes, 1995, The Barbers of Surreal, 1998 The Brain, 1999 Yallery Brown, 2000 – with Sean Aita Frankenstein: a Truly Monstrous Experiment, 2001 Shooting Shakespeare, 2004 Rough Magyck, 2006 Invisible Bonfires, 2007 The Colour of Nonsense, 2010
References
'Staging The Screen' by Greg Giesekam (Palgrave 2007)
External links