Puppet Man's new show

Norwich’s much-loved puppet man, David Perry, with his new friends, Basil the fox and Suzy the squirrel, which were given to him by Langleys. He is joined by Langleys manager Chris Goulding.

02 July 2007 14:19

He's undoubtedly one of Norwich's most loved entertainers and now the infamous Puppet Man has enjoyed a revamp.

The popular street performer has two new additions to his cast of colourful characters thanks to bosses at Langley's toy shop, in the Royal Arcade.

Basil the fox and Suzy the squirrel will join performer David Perry during his performances at the bottom of Hay Hill, which regularly bring amazed shoppers to a standstill.

The donation came after the Puppet Man's talent were brought into question on the letter pages of the Evening News.

Mr Perry, a familiar face in the city centre for more than a decade, was named one of the 25 Faces of Norwich in a competition organised by Castle Mall, leading to an angry letter from an anonymous reader who brandished him a “dullard, backwater of inbreeding”.

However, this sparked a series of letters in support of Norwich's Puppet Man and bosses at Langley's wanted to go one better and help him to improve his act even further.

Shop manager, Chris Goulding, said: “I think Puppet Man adds fun to the streets of Norwich, he puts a smile on hundreds of people's faces everyday, he is one of Norwich's characters.

“We thought that some of his puppets were looking a bit tired and felt as we have a superb range in our store it would be nice to help him update his collection.”

The newcomers will appear alongside Puppet Man's regular characters, Mick the dog, named after Mick Jagger, and Brenda, named after his wife.

Mr Perry, 64, who lives in Norwich, said: “I've always had abuse from people who don't like me. I think they don't like my singing.

“I was pleased to get the new puppets. I've named the fox Basil and the squirrel is his girlfriend Suzy. Basil likes to dance to the Beatles and Suzy sometimes makes an appearance.

“Basil was a relation to Basil Brush and now he's been made to work on the street he's not happy about it.”

Using a karaoke machine, the puppets dance while Mr Perry sings over songs by Elvis, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Over the years Norwich's Puppet Man has built up a cult following.

Fans have uploaded several films of him to the video-sharing website YouTube and in March he appeared in a series of popular post-cards, claiming to capture the unappreciated parts of the county.

Ü Are you a fan of the puppet man? Write to Letters, Evening News, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich, NR1 1RE or e-mail eveningnewsletters@archant.co.uk

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