The belly of the beast

Something nasty lurks beneath the streets and sidewalks of London in Mob Hit Productions’ latest offering, Neverwhere.

Based on the 1996 BBC television series and fantasy novel written by Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere centres on a young businessman unwittingly transported to a weird, alternate universe known as London Below, after he rescues an injured woman.

There are many perils in this dark, dank world, but none are as fearsome as the vicious Beast of London. To bring the deadly creature to life, Mob Hit drafted in the talents of props and effects specialists Nick Bellemore and Mike Perry of Calgary based Rocket Punch Studios.

“We tried to think of something that would have a bit of  a wow factor, but was also economically savvy for Mob Hit,” says Bellemore, who built the puppet in seven days using upholstery foam, fabric, latex paint and chunks of plastic and wood.

“This thing has been underground for hundreds of years. It’s been beaten up. It’s big and scary. We wanted it to look like it was built from the sewers.”

Bellemore’s creation is nine-feet long, stands an imposing seven-feet tall and is operated by two puppeteers who control the movements from inside the puppet.

“The back person puts his feet inside the hooves of the creature and holds the weight of the back end of the creature,” Bellemore explains.

“The front person is wearing a harness so they’re taking most of the weight on their shoulders, which actually leaves their arms free to manipulate the head.”

Bellemore has focused mostly on prop making and prosthetic effects design since moving to Calgary from Ontario four years ago. But he says he’s keen on doing more puppet work after his Neverwhere experience.

“(The Beast of London) has life and it has character and I think it’s really cool to experience that as a puppeteer and an audience member,” he says.