Holding Up the Queue with Simon this episode is Clive Hicks-Jenkins, an artist who has retained that essential spark of playfulness from childhood. Leaving his parents in Wales aged 12 to travel to the bright lights of London, Clive embarked on his metaphorical journey “from the forest to the fantastical”.

Simon and Clive meander and muse on puppetry, the folk toy aesthetic that inspired his Hansel & Gretel toy theatre for Pollocks and popular culture. The conversational walk through the Tyrol to the fairground finishes with why the British love “villainry” and its roots in the theatre, pantomime, music hall and Punch & Judy…

And the moral of the story is – always remember the breadcrumbs to find your way back home (remember your roots and what inspired you as a child in your creative journey)

Clive Hicks-Jenkins is a Welsh artist, choreographer, puppeteer, and theatre designer.
A love of toy theatre has been a life long inspiration for his successful creative career. Described by Simon Callow as ‘one of the most individual and complete artists of our time’, the toy theatre for Benjamin Pollock’s Toyshop is part of his Hansel & Gretel opus which includes a musical interpretation with words by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage.

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