Bren O’Callaghan A Runaway at the Media Circus!

Celebrity Skin 3

Breaking down my observation and response to Cruickshank's painting a number of factors stood out. The original has a strong sense of symmetry to the overall layout, distributing the multiple activities within a defined grid system. The use of squares and boxes are a repeat element throughout, from small structures to larger buildings and title plaques scattered across the seemingly chaotic (but actually ordered) landscape.

Most striking of all is the retreating depth of field; ornately framed and loosely defined as fore ground, middle ground, rear ground and backdrop. To me this conjured theatrical connotations, while I also felt strongly that Cruickshank’s cartoons were reminiscent of the pen-and-wash style I’d seen employed in vintage toy theatre puppetry: from swashbuckling pirates to pantomime dames in teetering wigs.

On looking further into the history of toy theatres, I learnt that as a form of home entertainment they were reaching their peak of popularity at the same time Cruickshank was working (mid-to-late 19th Century); first as miniature souvenirs of actual live productions but soon developing into an affordable, mass-produced artefact and pursuit beloved of both children and adults.

Research trips included the musty, labyrinthine interiors of Pollock’s Toy Museum, the great glass cases at the V&A Museum of Childhood, Pollock’s Toy Shop in Covent Garden (I defy anyone not to make a purchase on visiting), and the raucous, mechanical funfair diorama held as part of The Museum of Everything’s Exhibition #3 displayed as part of the collected ephemera of Sir Peter Blake.

As odd as it seems, I’d actually tracked down a rare edition of George Speaight’s The History of the English Toy Theatre a few years back during a late-night eBay graze, only for it to sit unread and untouched until needed. It turns out this book is pretty much the bible of all areas related to this form of juvenile entertainment, so I was able to swot up and chow down on this fascinating topic.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4