The Showmen of the Streets to be shown at Finsbury Library

IMAGINE balancing upside down on a bottle, as shown on this 1930s photograph, just to raise the three shillings needed to get into an Arsenal match at the old Highbury stadium.

Or being a “daredevil” like the Amazing Blondini by wrapping a rope around your neck in Petticoat Lane Market and asking a couple of strong-looking men to pull on either end.

A remarkable 45-minute documentary film, The Showmen of the Streets, is being shown at Finsbury Library next month.

It has been compiled by magician John Lawrenson, and traces a tradition of buskers who took their theatrical acts on the road in a business slightly above begging.

There’s footage of Harry and Henry Hollis, known as the Roadstars, who performed in Leicester Square between 1939 and 1969. They held the record for the number of arrests for obstruction.

The film is being shown at Islington Museum, Finsbury Library, at 6.30pm on Thursday, August 4. Admission is free.

Published: 8th July, 2011
by PETER GRUNER