Contact:
Ellis Charles Pike
(Artistic Director)
5 Balchier Road
East Dulwich
London SE22 0QN

tel. 020- 8693 6531
tel/fax. 020- 8299 2743
mobile 07968 027387

ellis@here-be-dragons.org.uk

Other useful links:

The Magic Lantern Show

Here be Dragons has particular expertise in a number of periods of English history, notably the Tudors, Regency and Victorian. In the latter of these periods we can offer a notable, and rather unusual, entertainment, the ‘Magic Lantern Show’. When Ellis joined the actors company of the newly opened Museum of the Moving Image in 1989, he developed a special interest, the Victorian ‘Magic Lantern’, becoming a collector and showman.

Link to Museum of the Moving Image

Link to Players’ Theatre

His specially written “Magic Lantern Spectacular” and “Just a Song at Twilight” feature Lantern Showmen portrayed by Ellis and fellow performers, using genuine equipment well over a hundred years old, to recreate the spectacle of the Victorian Lantern Shows. These can be enhanced using other Victorian Entertainers including singers, musicians, and even a Male Voice Choir, all provided through Here be Dragons. These authentic entertainments have been seen at the Players’ Theatre, the British Museum, Brighton Royal Pavilion, Preston Manor, the Public Record Office, the ‘Moonshadow Festival’, Sevenoaks Stag theatre and heritage venues about the country.

As an accomplished Lantern Showman, Ellis performed in the ‘Cinema 100’ celebrations, notably at the launch before the Prince of Wales. Ellis is often called on to advise on the use of the Magic Lantern by film and TV production companies including BBC Blue Peter, BBC Knowledge and Carpathian Pictures.