Went with my daughter to see Joe Gladwin perform a 30 minute toy theatre Aladdin & His Wonderful Lamp at Tuttons Private Dining Rooms at Covent Garden. This show had been arranged by Peter Baldwin, who had been asked by the Covent Garden management to provide suitable Christmas-time entertainment.
It was a wonderful solo show, fast-moving (12 scenes), comical and entertaining- conforming in broad outline to the Arabian Nights tale we all know. Figures were based on 19th century toy theatre sheets by Pollock, Webb, Skelt and Green, blown up to a slightly larger size. Recorded sound for the music (which played constantly), but live voices and some live sound effects as well. A real tour de force.
My daughter and I spoke to Gladwin briefly before and after the show and got a close look at his set-up.
Gladwin backs his figures with acetate, attached to the paper by double-sided transparent cellotape. These are animated by sliders made from welding wire attach to wooden bases. All his figures are lined up stage left and right on pieces of paper where their names are written down. The script is on pieces of card that sit on the back of the proscenium. Footlights on the stage hide the sliders, and there are also lights above the stage and in front of the stage, as well as a row of 4 battery operated flickering candles directly in front of the proscenium. All the scenic backdrops have tabs attached to them, which allows for them to easily be taken out of the grooves.
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