Eugene Lambert
Most everyone I know in Ireland today is talking about Eugene Lambert and the Lambert Puppet Theatre. Because Ireland has lost a colossal creative talent.
There’s a Kansas City connection with the Lambert Puppet Theatre, but more of that later.
One of Eugene’s creations was the television programme Wanderly Wagon, which ran on RTÉ from 1968 to 1982.
With writers including Neil Jordan, Frank Kelly (Father Ted’s Father Jack), and Pat Ingoldsby, Wanderly Wagon was to become part of the definition of an Irish childhood for the generation from which I come. If you know someone from Ireland, walk up to them and say Wanderly Wagon and see what happens. Chances are you’ll see a smile, if not have the theme song sung to you.
There’s an excellent interview with Eugene by fellow Irish blogger and twitterer, Fústar, that you should read.
That Kansas City connection?
Another children’s TV programme that came from the Lambert Theatre Company was Bosco, and it’s from this very show that a Kansas City based rock band took their name - even if they did at the very last minute change the spelling from “Bosco” to “Bosko”.
The t-shirts for Bosko, of whom 4 out of its 5 members were Irish-born, featured a simplified representation of Bosco the puppet - all red dreadlocks on a green jersey (I’m wearing one such t-shirt as I write this). You may remember Bosko from the Brookside Irish Festival where they performed mostly original material following opening with a cover of a Guernica track.
Anyway, all day I’ve been hearing friends and family reminisce about going to the Lambert Puppet Theatre, both as children and as adults taking children. And siince I’m off to the pub now, I suspect that’s going to continue. I just need to change out of this Bosko t-shirt first; I think I have a clean one somewhere.
Thank you very much, Mr Lambert.
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