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Toy Theatres
During the early nineteenth century, toy theatres were very popular among children in Europe. Middle-class children played with characters cut out from penny newspapers. Children from wealthier families played with miniature theatres. Many times, actual plays were never performed because children had so much fun assembling and decorating the stage and characters!
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Pollock's Victorian toy theatre featuring the play, Aladdin
England |
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| Toy theatres like this one were created by a man named Benjamin Pollock, known as "the last of the toy theatre makers". In the 1920s, famous actors of the London stage, including Charlie Chaplin, visited his shop in the Hoxton area of London. Pollock toy theatres continue to be displayed and sold at the Pollock's Toy Museum in London, England. |
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Tivoli's Pantomime ("Peacock") toy theatre featuring the comedic play, Harlequin and Columbine
Copenhagen, Denmark |
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Actors in pantomime theatre do not speak during a performance. They use gestures, body language and props to tell a story. Tivoli pantomime actors mixed ballet, acrobatics and slapstick with music to make the audience laugh. The Tivoli theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark first opened to the public in 1874. |
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Gilbert and Sullivan Opera toy theatre featuring the operetta, The Mikado England |
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Sir William Schwenck Gilbert and Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan joined their talents of librettist (writer of operas) and composer to create fourteen operettas between 1871 and1896, paving the way for modern musical theatre. Their operettas were performed at the Savoy Theatre in London. The most popular, called "The Mikado," opened in 1885. Can you see the musicians in the orchestra pit in front of the stage? |
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