Guy Richardson. 6.9.1933 – 13.9.2021
My dear friend, colleague and teacher Guy Richardson died on 13th September, peacefully in his sleep, at his daughter’s house in Lowestoft. He was 88 and had achieved his wish to “just fade away”.
Guy playing the part of Mr Noah in Noah’s Park, the last show that we produced together in 1999. Photo by Julie Carpenter. (read more here)
Guy studied at Chelsea Art School in the 50s, taught art at a girls grammar school, was Punch and Judy Professor on Great Yarmouth beach for many years, and also toured puppet shows on diverse subjects to schools and small theatres all over East Anglia. His shows included rod, glove and shadow puppets, he often appeared as a character in his stories, and he ran inspiring shadow puppet workshops. He also turned his hand to short pieces for special and private events (such as an unforgettable Albert and the Lion at my 60th birthday party). As he did less touring he made remarkable peep shows, like static pieces of theatre; The Siege of Troy – a wooden, large-scale version of a Victorian model theatre; a series of bronze medals on the 7 Deadly Sins, (some of which I believe are in the collection at the British Museum). He spent hours on Lowestoft beach every summer sketching people on holiday, and in his 70s and early 80s made exquisite small porcelain sculptures.
He was a devoted father to his three daughters, in spite of (maybe because of) his own harsh childhood and many disappointments and difficulties in his personal life. In later life he studied Buddhism which brought him great solace.
For me, as his unofficial apprentice, Guy was a peerless teacher of sculpture, painting, and puppetry – encouraging, humorous, kind, and constantly curious. He was a fearless experimenter with different media; modest in spite of his great skill as a painter and sculptor; a hilarious performer, puppeteer and showman and perfect company on tour; an avid reader and open-minded appreciator of all the arts. He was a model to all his friends in Suffolk of how to live as an artist. R.I.P. dear Guy.
Meg Amsden. 5th October 2021.