Louise from Benjamin Pollock's Toyshop in London has written to say that " our Christmas performance of Aladdin is being performed by Joe Gladwin."
The Corsican Brothers DVD is now out and available on EBay! Rejoice all toy theatre fans (especially those of us who have never seen a live performance and are starved for any kind of recording of one...well, this isn't exactly 'live', but it's the next best thing in my humble opinion.)
I was doing an internet search for my friends, George and Ann Neff, and came across your blog on toy theatre, then followed to your Victorian Sex Machine blog. It seemed like you might be interested in our work, which kind of combines both (in some way.) We do erotic toy theatre. Our company, Little Blue Moon Theatre, began in an aphrodisiac factory 6 or so years ago. I have found that the static nature of toy theatre figures make them perfect candidates for bondage, something I didn't realize until a friend pointed out that most of our shows involve bondage...I realized that they don't move anyway, which makes it perfect for them.
Ilisha Helfman from Hestia House wrote to share...Hi Trish,
I wanted to let you know about my paper doll blog where I'm having great fun pretending to be a contestant on "Project Runway" using each week's "NY Times Magazine" cover as my challenge. I have twelve new paper dolls and have chosen one to be me, one to be my model and the rest to be other designers and audience members.
The Benjamin Pollock's Toyshop website has been updated with a new and much improved look as well as new features. Be sure and check them out!
Antique Photographica is having another of its periodic sales of all things photographic and optical, including some amazing optical toys such as the panorama above. Be sure and check the sale out - it's well worth it!
Recently I was contacted by Cindi Zuby about obtaining permission to use some photos I had taken of Luman Coad for posters of a festival taking place this next week in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.I have to tell you a wonderful moment we had in London with Robert Styles (only true Punch people will get this...) He was telling us about his show that was his "audition" for being accepted as a Punchman. In the middle of the show, as he dropped Judy, he accidentally spit out his swazzle. He said there was a large amount of ad-libbing until he could reach down, pick up the now dirty and gritty swazzle and get it back in his mouth. His version is more hilarious than mine, but it made me wonder --- as all three of us were laughing hysterically in our beers --- who in the world would laugh at the phrase "...and I spit out my swazzle...", let alone know what the hell anyone was talking about!For funny!
I had a very pleasant afternoon with Peter Baldwin at his home yesterday recording the introduction for The Corsican Brothers, He's also very kindly recorded the judge's voice which is easy to replace in the film. Peter has also let me take photographs of the original stage productions poster to include and other goodies, like photocopying the ghost melody music etc so a cracking day.He went on to explain he's been very busy professionally (he is an actor) so he's had to wedge in his labor of love when time permits. He has many fans (including myself) avidly awaiting the final results!
I posted here recently about some amazing puppets created by Brian Flavin, based on characters created by a friend of mine, Vanesa. Her ultimate goal was to recreate them all in life-size versions.
A complete set, eight sheets, of “Hodgson’s Characters in the Infernal Secret.” [London]: Hodgson & Co., 1822. Original hand coloring; light toning to edges; nicks to corners and edges, away from images; bright. [$400] One of the less common sets of Hodgson figures, with four shrouded inquisitors and the three sheets of scenarios (a pair to each).So goes the description on Item #76, in the current Dramatis Personae catalogue, just announced today...
I spent this past week visiting an amazing friend in the wilderness of Minnesota. It's so far off the beaten path, that they are not on Google maps, and it's on purpose. They live in a dome house by their own design, he farms1, she does...well, just about everything. She is a multidisciplinary artist. Trust me, this woman works hard. She's the hardest workin' woman in show business, at least that's my opinion. Anyways, she's damned talented, that's for sure.
If you take the time to not only check out, but delve further into the world of these characters, you'll see why they are made this way. My friend's stories are violent, sexual, disturbing. They are not cute in a Disney sense (although there can be cute moments of a type), but they are not supposed to be. To paraphrase her, she exorcises her demons through her art and writing in these characters and storylines. Those of us lucky enough to run across these stories are invited to come into her looking-glass world if we dare. I hope you do...I dare ya.
Catch the highlights of the recent festival here...
