Voices of Victorian London.

Fascinating programme featuring actors who bring to life the oral records of mid-19th century London collected by journalist Henry Mayhew. Mayhew was a journalist who used shorthand to record the conversations he had with many people on the streets of London. The characters seen here are a False Eye Maker, a Pure (dog dung) Finder, a Costermonger, a Coster Girl, a Microscope Exhibitor (who charges a penny a peep to look at magnified items including a flea, a human hair and cheesemites), a New Milk Seller (who sells milk from a cow in St. James's Park), Jack Black - the Queen's Rat Catcher and a Street Clown who tells of the strain of performing 'buffoonery with a terrible heavy heart'. Aspects of health are discussed by most of the participants.