Steve Lee obituary

Countless schoolchildren had their first theatre experience watching my friend Steve Lee at work as a puppeteer. As a charismatic storyteller, Steve, who has died aged 73 of pneumonia, would captivate children while simultaneously entertaining their teachers with his witty remarks.

He was the face of the Puppeteers’ Company, which he co-founded in 1980 with his partner, Peter Franklin, building on their experiences over a decade at the Da Silva Puppet Company.

Steve was born in Southampton, the son of Raymond Lee, a machine tool maker, and Freda (nee Watson), a manager for Surridge Dawson wholesale newsagents. Although he loved all things theatrical, on leaving King Edward VI school Steve found himself designing forms for Southern Gas and United Glass. After an inspirational visit to the 1968 international puppet festival in Colwyn Bay, north Wales, he decided to throw away his suit, grow his hair and become a puppeteer.

Between 1971 and 1980 Steve worked for the Da Silva Puppet Company, at first in Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire, and later at the Norwich Puppet Theatre , founded by Ray Da Silva. There he met Peter and they became partners at work and in life, later registering their civil partnership in 2008. They created and performed productions for schools and arts centres, such as an innovative production of Peter and the Wolf featuring several different types of puppets that toured internationally.

With the Puppeteers’ Company, Steve and Peter performed highly polished cabaret on cruise liners across the world. The company toured nationally and took shows to arts festivals in Japan, Hong Kong and across Europe. Successful productions included an acclaimed rod puppet Coppelia (1984), The Happy Prince (1986) and St George and the Dragon (1992) . Also included in the repertoire were musical revues, notably Top Hats & Tales (1993), featuring 10 different types of puppets.

In 1986 they appeared on the BBC children’s programme Stilgoe’s On, and in 1988 on The Paul Daniels Magic Christmas Show, with more than 12 million viewers. In 1996, Steve – an avid Disney fan – was commissioned to write scripts for Disney Time specials, broadcast in the UK and Europe.

The Puppeteers’ Company came to an end in 2012, and Peter died four years later. Steve continued to work creatively, writing an as yet unpublished novel ( Resident Alien ) while working on several design projects.

Steve liked his own version of the old joke that he always started the day by reading the obituaries in the Stage. If he did not appear in them, he would get up.

He is survived by Griff Melluish, his civil partner since 2019, his sister, Barbara, and his niece, Ceri.