"The Wedding Supper", somehow I want to call it the "Last Supper"!
How many celebrities can YOU identify? [Click to enlarge]
I recently wrote about an exhibition that uses toy theatre in a very fun, inventive, and stimulating manner. It opened last weekend. One of the individuals behind the exhibition, Bren O'Callaghan, wrote to share some images from the exhibition (see below) and these kind comments...
Dear Trish
Thanks so much for getting in touch about my exhibition, apologies it has taken until now but I was consumed with the final few days of preparation and then had to take a few days off!
Please find attached two images of each theatre should you wish to use these on your site.
Thanks also for the lovely blog post, you seem to have the hang of the purpose behind the work - building upon the seed of an idea first proposed by TV comedian Harry Hill, actually the alter-ego of artist Matthew Hall. I picked up the baton of the earlier challenge so to speak, and decided to interpret Cruikshank's mammoth painting by selecting key vignettes from within the larger whole. I wanted to retain the sense of caricature and retreating fields of depth, which is why I turned to the form of toy theatres, and I glad I did because I've loved every moment of this project - even though it was hard work at times!
Opening this weekend is a wonderfully satirical, creative, thought-provoking, and amusing exhibition that features toy theatre as part of its realization.
The People You're Not exhibition can be briefly described as "...a satirical trip through the private and public faces of fame, from the first heady days of idolisation and adoring fans, via rock and roll alter-egos, excess and media mockery to dysfunction, introversion and the eccentric depths of the celebrity soul."
From the gallery's website, it is further described as "...Victorian satire meets Heat Magazine as six illustrators put a contemporary spin on scenes from George Cruikshank’s famous 1860 painting exposing the evils and horrors of alcohol. ‘Performers’ such as Kerry Katona and Liza Minnelli, Courtney Love and George Best, Oliver Reed and Lindsay Lohan are given centre stage in six large-scale Victorian-style toy theatres, setting the scene for cautionary tales of drunken celebrity clichés and the pitfalls of the demon drink.
What does everyone think about holding an online TT festival?
It could include performances via YouTube or Vimeo, or even web cam if anyone would fancy trying something live.
We could post images, scripts, proposals etc
There are several sites where one can hold online conferences, for presentations, abstracts and papers.
It might be easier than a physical event to start with?
Any takers?
I think it's a marvelous idea. An idea whose time has not only come, but is long overdue.
Overall response so far has been modest but enthusiastic. There was some concern about it being 'only' an online festival, with recorded performance versus live performance (albeit by video, not in-person). However, as it was further discussed in the online group - and the original poster suggested - why not both?
Another aspect of a virtual festival beside the the recorded vs live, is that there could be virtual (animated - handmade or computer) versus 'real' or physical performances.
It goes without saying that variety is the spice of life, yet tradition is something to preserve. That said, both traditional theatres and/or plays would be presented, but innovative, avant-garde, or experimental theatre-of-the-small should be encouraged, also.
What say you, Dear Readers? Anyone interested in taking part? It's early days, but the world toy theatre community would love to hear from you if you'd like to participate in any capacity - design, performance, 'backstage', technical, etc. If you don't know who to contact, let me know and I'll put you in touch...
