“You could make a fortune on the Variety Stage!” Toy Soldiers and Advent Calendar Toy Theatre

Six press out characters, Harlequin, Pierrot, Columbine, the Fairy, Toby Dog and sailor Boy

Each year we have a new advent calendar, as part of our recent family Christmas traditions. Other families like Marvin at the Subterranean, sorry Suburban Militarism blog have their Army of Advent Christmas figures. You might have some odd Christmas traditions of your own!

Our 2018 advent calendar from Art Angels designed by the fabulous British illustrator Emily Sutton was a fabulous toy shop.

This year’s advent calendar by Emily Sutton is a fabulous 3D Toy Theatre by Emily Sutton complete with stage and press out cardboard figures. She has previously done a tribute Pantomime print in Benjamin Pollock toy theatre style.

A stage? Victorian figures? I know a few talented toy figures (maybe even ex-soldiers) who seek such a venue.

Lawe and Awder, The Two Singing Bobbies, “Always on The Beat” … (my Prince August Home Casts)

It is an odd saying in our family that if someone has a peculiar or unusual talent or even embarrassing mishap that “if they could do that, they could have made a fortune on the variety stage”.

Alas those speciality acts and Variety stages are largely no more. The music halls have fallen silent, largely killed off by television and radio. Variety theatres, music hall and revues were the origin of many of the comic performers of the 1950s and 1960s that I admired on the radio and television whilst growing up, ranging from The Goons to Danny La Rue and Morecambe and Wise.

My beloved Muppets Show was set in a variety theatre with often desperate old time Vaudeville acts and hecklers. One of my first 45 rpm childhood records was The Muppets, Kermit and Miss Piggy singing Old time music hall – did anyone else find her a little disturbing in an undefined way?

The cheerful comic song of the old flower girl “Who’ll look at my lovely bloomers?”

A more serious tragic recitation by an acclaimed ‘Ac-tor’ of the proper ‘The-a-tre’

I like how Emily Sutton has captured the colourful “tuppence coloured penny plain” style of the old Victorian and Edwardian Toy Theatre sheets. I also notice how well the pink cheek dots of the old toy soldier figures works on the pit orchestra and audiences in the boxes.

This dapper old soldier with ‘tache could be a lively female impersonator like Vesta Tilley

Street Songs of Old London Town:The Musical Muffin Man, Lucky Sweep and Blind Fiddler.

The “Fan Mail” sketch from Fred the Singing Postman and Fanny our Variety Comedienne

William Shaxbeard’s dream of a magnificent theatre of the future …

The ‘skin’ role – Urson Wells our fine dancing & singing ‘bear’, musicians and Fido the singing dog …must be hot in that bear costume (new Tradition of London and old hollowcast figures)

A fine Military Band to lift the spirits! Mostly plastics of various makers

Man of TIN salutes and sings a fine patriotic song! (My home cast Prince August ‘avatar’ )

Man of TIN with small Guards Marching Band: my shiny painted Lone Star / Harvey plastics

“The Relief Of Mafeking” a patriotic song by the “Three Jingo-ling Johnnies

A jaunty Scottish musical number from Mac on the Pipes

Whistling Bob Nobbler, the Genial Gentleman of the Road and his comedy patter

“Aww, My Aching Feet!” A comedy musical number from Tweeny our “Maid of All Work”.

Figures are a mixture of plastic, my home cast Prince August metal, old lead hollowcast from various makers including newer metal figures from Asset Toy Soldiers, Tradition of London, Dorset Toy Soldiers.

Next post – some of the paper cut outs from my Suffra-fiti game tread the boards, with a little more on toy soldiers, early Wargamers and Toy Theatres (Theatres of War?)

RLS – “Penny Plain and Tuppence Coloured” famous essay on Toy Theatre –

http://archive.org/stream/memoriesandportr00stev

Blog posted by Mark Man of TIN, December 2020