About Philip Sugg

Philip Sugg has a BA Hons degree from Nottingham University in art history and in fine art from Nottingham art college (now Trent University!) Philip then spent a year at Bristol University Drama department working with radio, film and television, particularly animation. His career has been adult and college teaching, film production and the design of audio visual displays. He was assistant education officer and film officer at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich for ten years .

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During all this time, he never lost his fascination with miniature theatres, those souvenirs of Regency drama, vast romantic productions reduced to tiny paper theatres! They survived as the Penny Plain, Two Pence Coloured sheets last issued by Pollock. Having curated an exhibition of Nautical Toy Theatres for the Maritime Museum with Phyllis Hallett, his boss and a fine artist, he met George Speaight, the great historian and performer . He had done perhaps more than anyone to save this cottage industry during the 1930s and had encouraged Phyllis to continue the revival while she was a student at Goldsmiths College during World War II.  Philip is continuing the tradition in his own style, as well as developing themes from Commedia del’Arte and pantomime clowns such as Joseph Grimaldi. Much of this work has been done since his move Brighton in 2011 when he met and worked with artist and illustrator Amanda Rosenstein Davidson as well as other talented puppeteers including Touched Theatre.

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In addition to direct collaboration in the making of a number projects, Amanda has organised and curated exhibitions of these artists’ work:

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-2016- At the Grange Gallery Rottingdean

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-2017-Hove Museum “The Art of Puppetry,Making Magic in the Museum”

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-2018-The Regency Town House, Brunswick Square “Portraits, Puppets and Performance”