Making Mischief Oral Project, 'Gingernut the Clown' full

London College of Fashion

Ian was a puppeteer before becoming a clown. He created his clown persona Gingernut (because of his red hair) on a cruise in 1976. His first costume came from a London store and was a Royal Stewart tartan suit. He used plastic gingernut biscuits for the buttons. Over the years Ian has learnt skills and tricks associated with clowning such as tightrope walking and magic. He has worked abroad and in many different environments. Later in his career his costumes were made for him by a lady called Heidi who designed things like false arms for some of his characters. In Ian's view, clowns are part of folk tradition and have much in common with fools, jesters and comic Morris characters.