Custard Pie Ceremony with Live Score

In 1909, veteran comic Ben Turpin became the first film actor to get hit in the face with a custard pie. After that, everyone was at it, and it became a staple for silent comedies.

We’ll be celebrating the art of throwing the custard pie with a selection of silent and sound shorts and extracts from films from the 10s, 20s, and 30s. Featuring, amongst others, Mabel Normand and Fatty Arbuckle in A Noise from the Deep (1913), Charlie Chaplin in His Trysting Places (1914) and Behind the Screen (1916), and everyone’s favourite comedy duo Laurel & Hardy in The Battle of the Century (1927). All silent films and extracts will be accompanied by pianist Stephen Horne.

Actor, Sarah Hamilton Baker, will also perform a demonstration in how to throw the perfect custard pie.