Toy Theatre with Pollock’s Toy Museum

Toy Theatre, also known as Paper Theatre, is a form of a homemade model theatre where scenes or dramas can be performed with miniature backdrops and figures. Particular popular in the UK in the C19th and still popular in Europe and north America where there are festivals dedicated to Toy Theatre performances, including contemporary work that combine traditional methods with modern technology and contemporary narratives. This course will include a mix of looking at examples of Toy Theatre and creating your own version. The course will include a class visit to Pollock’s Toy Museum, with access to their historic examples of Toy Theatres and discussion with their curator. In class we will include look at modern examples of Toy Theatre, and study both construction techniques used and the artistic content presented. Students will then be supported to develop their own version. This will include building their own personalised Toy Theatre using simple materials such as mount board and card, designing and making the characters and scenery to fit inside it, and developing a short piece of drama to perform with it. There will be support in all aspect of this project (designing, constructing, decorating, writing and developing a performance). There will be an opportunity, for those who would like, to present their work to an audience, either through a display of the Toy Theatre they have made or a performance of the short drama they have developed.