Day 23 - Art Challenge 2

I somehow now seem to be doing one challenge within another.

I'm on Day 23 of the 30 day Blogging Challenge, and Day 2 of the FB Art Challenge. 
Which leaves.....

*mutter, mumble, errm, carry the one, minus the first number......*

.... 7 days for the blog challenge and 3 days for the art challenge.

How potentially confusing is this?  Plus I'm not convinced that combining them in order to kill two birds with one stone is, strictly speaking, permissible, but it's my blog so I'm allowed some cheating artistic licence.

So.

Today,the theme for my three photos for the FB Art Challenge is one of my great passions..... toy theatres.  As a child I had quite a collection of toy theatres, most of which were of the 'colour in, cut out, assemble and ACTION!' variety.  I also had a larger wooden theatre, which was just the right size for plays enacted by my Pelham Puppets.  I had the Witch, a Princess, a Prince and a Dragon with which I played out many tales of unrequited love, endless quests, valour, magic and derring-do.

As a miniature toymaker then, I just had to make some tiny toy theatres.....

Illuminated Victorian Christmas Toy Theatre

My theatres are made of wood, with printed graphics.  Many of them are illuminated with a tiny 12V grain of rice bulb, which can be plugged into any doll's house lighting circuit. Other theatres in this range include Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood.

Illuminated Alice In Wonderland Toy Theatre

My new Alice in Wonderland theatre has a little drawer in the base which holds a whole cast of characters.  The characters are double sided and have magnetic bases so that they easily be moved around the stage but won't fall over.  How amazing is that?

Punch & Judy Toy Theatre

Another favourite is my traditional Punch & Judy toy theatre, which comes complete with two porcelain puppets, the eponymous and pugnacious Mr Punch, and his long-suffering wife Judy.  These theatres are decorated with Union Jack flags and bunting and have vintage Punch & Judy posters on the sides.  This one is shown in situ in my day nursery room setting.  Young Algernon, is rehearsing the play for his sisters, and is reading the script from his Mr Punch book.

I'm currently working on a new theatre which will feature the fairy tale favourite, Cinderella, which should be ready in time for the next Mini Miniature Show in March.