CHARLES LUDLAM AND THEATRE OF THE RIDICULOUS

How one man helped shape a bawdy, extravagant underground movement into a theatrical phenomenon

- Callum McKelvie

To Charles Ludlam, the word 'ridiculous' described not only his livelihood but also his own unique art form. A force to be reckoned with in the New York 'Off-off-Broadway' scene of the late 1960s to mid-1980s, while Ludlam cannot be credited with the creation of 'ridiculous theatre' he was arguably its most influential figure. For decades his company delighted audiences with groundbreaking works, recognised by their trademark use of disparate cultural references, drag, humour - and Ludlam himself. But despite his later extravagance, he experienced a somewhat lonely childhood in a quiet New York suburb.

Born in Long Island, New York, on 12 April 1943, as a young boy Ludlam largely kept to himself. At an early age he began to develop a taste for popular culture. Fed on a steady diet of comic books, television and B-movies, Ludlam fully embraced the fantasy worlds they presented. "My mother used to take me to the movie theatre across the street from our apartment in Hyde Park a couple of times a week," Ludlam later told journalist Don Shewey. "I had a big fantasy life."

Particular favourites were the campy, exotic adventure films of Maria Montez, which would prove particularly inspirational to Ludlam and many others in New York's underground art scene of the 1960s.

But as Ludlam's interests developed it was no longer enough simply to observe and he sought to create, beginning to experiment with puppetry and theatre. According to Calvin Tomkins' profile for The New Yorker in 1976, the relatively reserved child was "the boy who shone only once a year, when he starred in the class play at school".