Thames Valley Morris: Characters

TVM have a wide range of animals, beasts, characters and fools. Normally one is out dancing at one time but occasionally there are two or three characters joining (and distracting) the side.

The characters of the characters depend on who is in them. In Thames Valley a character or beast does not 'belong' to one dancer - the beasts at least are moveable beasts.

• A Fool.
  Takes the role of contact point for the audience, mingling, explaining and collecting money. The Fools rig is the fairly traditional smock and bladder.
• The Jester.
  A dancing character, in a yellow and blue jester's kit with 1960's style embroidery.
• The Announcer
  A Master of Ceremonies, with a voice which carries and some practice at clowning.
• The Cake Bearer
  On TVM's Hocktide and Boxing Day tours; a distributor of luck and fertility.
• The Betty.
  A rare and somewhat disruptive influence on the dance with her approaches to the dancers and her prodding them with her stick.

• The Horse.
  A hobby variety, expressive, mobile and generally friendly - the straight man (errr... animal) to ...
• The Goat.
  An elemental beast, anarchic tendencies and a taste for danger.

On foreign trips it has been known that the side has been accompanied by two goats who vie for attention and try to out-do each other....

See Rich Holmes's pages for more information about beasts.