Street performer Rob fought the law... and he won

WHEN Robert Stredder first donned a ten gallon hat, neckerchief and a shiny pair of six-shooters he soon realised he was blasting away any lingering hopes his father had that he would become a lawyer.

Posing as John Wayne, he swaggered through crowded streets cajoling members of the public to part with their cash for charity while creating chuckles with his theatrical shenanigans.

“Being on the street and making people laugh – it gave me a real buzz,” says Robert. “I realised this is what I want to do, to be a performer. Law? That would be a silly mistake. This was much more fun.” The coming year marks the 50th anniversary of that day in 1963 – Robert’s induction into the absurd, clownish, bizarre and often quite ludicrous world of street theatre. He has lived and worked in Swindon for the past 35 years, becoming the town’s best known street performer and a familiar – if somewhat garish – figure at numerous public functions and events.

His many guises have included Marcel Marceau-like mime artiste, a juggler and twirler of blazing clubs and flaming batons, a spinner of plates, a Monty Python-like surrealist… not to mention an assortment of clowns ranging from slapstick to satirical. As Robbo the Clown he can be found playing the buffoon in front of chortling youngsters at children’s parties or teaching comedy and circus skills at school workshops throughout Swindon.

At 71, he’s here, he’s there, he’s still pretty much everywhere and doesn’t look like slowing up. Recent appearances by Robert have included the Bonfire Night Display at the Polo Ground and the Old Town Christmas Lights switch-on.

And it’s certainly a case of “on yer bike” when it comes to the squeals-on-wheels show, Les Theatre de Bicyclettes. His face plastered in make-up and often grinning from beneath a top hat or some outlandish wig, he arrives at gigs on his 1940s bicycle, its basket rattling with props for the approaching performance.

“When I first started out I possibly should have done a bit more stage work – but I took to the street instead.

“With street theatre you can relate to and interact with the crowd. You play off them and you improvise.

“You have a laugh with them as well – far more so than in the theatre when the audience is seated and tends to be more polite.”

Brought up in the Midlands, Robert studied law at Birmingham University after his dad advised him: “There will always be jobs for lawyers.” A member of the 1963 university carnival committee, he slipped into cowboy duds and rounded-up a hobby horse for the city centre procession, helping to raise £20,000 for Birmingham children’s hospital.

The street theatre bug instantly struck and he took a post-graduate course in teaching drama before finding a job working with youngsters in London’s East End. Robert also fell into the city’s fringe and street theatre scene and – among other projects – joined Time Bandits star David Rappaport in a cabaret venture called European Theatre of War.

“We toured cities across Europe dressed in surplus Army gear and camouflage, sending up the nuclear arms race.” It was hard-bitten satirical stuff tempered with a gentler It Ain’t Half Hot Mum humour.

One of his quirkier jobs – even by Robert’s standards – involved touring Britain disguised as various monsters from early Dr Who adventures, such as the Tree Creeper or the Man Mountain.

“I’d be on the street dressed like a boulder or a tree and then, all of a sudden, I’d move,” he recalls. “It made people jump.” Robert came to Swindon in 1977 for the Groundwell Farm project which saw the creation of an arts/craft/performance hub at a Grade II listed farmhouse in what is now Abbey Meads.

Back then you reached Groundwell Farm – now a dental surgery – by driving along a dusty country lane just north of Penhill. You could have been in the middle of nowhere. From there Robert and fellow “farmers” worked on a range of projects including teaching pottery and silk-screen printing while undertaking numerous outreach workshops for children and people with learning difficulties.

They performed for the public too and over the years Robert became a regular and well-known face in and around Swindon at festivals, fairs, gigs and fetes.

He also became adept at fire juggling, spectacularly tossing fire torches into the air. “I started juggling three balls, then four, which is pretty good, but I could never master five,” he said. “Over the years I’ve taught it to about 300 people in Swindon. They come up to me all the time in pubs saying ‘you showed me how to juggle.’ I juggled rings, balls, knives, clubs – then got into fire juggling.”

Somewhat reassuringly, he continues: “It’s not as dangerous as it looks. I use paraffin, which has a low burn point. During performances I pass my hand through the flame and go ‘urgh’ pretending I’m burnt. But it’s just part of the act.” Robert also launched Les Theatre des Bicyclettes with partner Jackie Bardwell, a trained gymnast and former Ballet Rambert student. He says: “I found this old 1940s bike at Groundwell Farm, and I thought ‘perfect.’”

Robert, now of Blunsdon, uses the said contraption to cycle to gigs usually togged up in outrageous make-up and costume.

Over the years Les Bicyclettes has performed at scores of local, regional and national events including the Edinburgh Festival and 25 Glastonburys.

Speaking of bikes, cycle enthusiast Robert can also lay claim to helping to found the annual London-Brighton bike ride in 1975, which raises millions for charity every year. He was among a group of London-based cycle fans who fancied doing something for charity while having a bit of a laugh.

Meanwhile, he has no plans to extinguish his fiery juggling act or call time on his public performances. “If I start messing up then I’ll stop. I don’t want to become embarrassing. At the moment though I can still do it – and I still get that buzz.” l Robert or Les Bicyclettes can be contacted on 01793 725206 or at jackiebardwell@ yahoo.co.uk