Toy Theatre

Toy Theatre, also called paper theater and model theater, is a form of miniature theater dating back to the early 19th century in Europe. Toy Theatres were often printed on paperboard sheets and sold as kits at the concession stand of an opera house, playhouse, or vaudeville theater.

In May 1947, two East London men, Arthur Markson and H J Henderson brought two models of the Victorian-era Toy Theatre to South Africa and set them up at Selborne Boys' Primary School.

Toy Theatre was kept alive in Britain by Benjamin Pollick until circa 1937 but after the Second World War Sir Ralph Richardson and Robert Donat revived interest in it.

The Toy Theatre stood approximately 40 cm high and came supplied with backdrops, flats, set furniture and cardboard characters dressed for each scene in which they will appear. A special lighting plant, consisting of floodlights, spotlights and revolving coloured screens, was constructed.

Educational authorities included the Toy Theatre as standard equipment in art classes, and the Sadlers Wells Ballet Company adapted it as a means of instruction. Classics and modern plays were especially written for it, including one by J. B. Priestly, the English novelist, playwright and screenwriter.

Sources

Saturday Post, May 17, 1947.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Toy+Theatre&rlz=1C1OKWM_enZA885ZA885&oq=Toy+Theatre&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l3.4543j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&dlnr=1&sei=Ml_gYOCoJo2L8gLnmIuACQ

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._B._Priestley

Return to

Return to South African Theatre Venues, Companies, Societies, etc

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page