ALADDIN Paper Toy Theatre
PRE-RELEASE: ALADDIN: a Paper Toy Theatre by Vaishali Prazmari
ALADDIN needs no introduction. It’s the original rags-to-riches tale of a boy ragamuffin who is both lucky and smart and ends up marrying the Princess of his dreams. A story conjured in collaboration between Frenchman Antoine Galland and Syrian Maronite Hanna Diyab ensconced in a Chinese fairytale with all of imperial China as a backdrop…Everyone has their own relationship with ALADDIN. It’s a story. It’s countless picture books. It’s Christmas pantomimes and plays. It’s a Disney film. It was always, always, a toy theatre. And now I present it here again, repackaged with the depth and culture of imperial China and flavoured with my own memories of a childhood in Hong Kong, marinated in its own Arabian Nights juices. Highly researched and intricate, scenic and character details are given their fullest expression with the trained hand of a miniature painter versed in European art and the toy theatre tradition as well as the specialised techniques of Indo-Persian and Mughal manuscript painting. Both are blended to scintillating effect in this toy theatre printed on limited edition, specially commissioned hand-tested paper – ideal for miniature painting on – to create a truly unique and delicious ALADDIN.
ALADDIN itself is not strictly part of the 1001 Nights, though it falls under its spell. It is purportedly a tale told by Diyab to Galland recounting his lived experiences and journey to France, respun by Galland’s fertile imagination, interspersed with lively anecdotes of the Near East, inflected with the grandeur of Versailles and then transposed to China. It has always been popularly told around Christmas. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all! May we finally fill the lull between Christmas and New Year with the toy theatre and stories. And this is one of the most famous stories of all: the tale of a boy and a lamp. There is no other - it has to be ALADDIN.
Limited Edition of 101.
This ALADDIN toy theatre is a black and white, 'penny plain' toy theatre published by Pollocks Paper Theatres and Pollocks Toy Museum in the tradition of 'penny plain, twopence coloured'. In the past, people would buy the black and white toy theatres and colour them at home themselves.
A full-colour version is forthcoming for collectors; for the true toy theatre enthusiast part of the fun is the chance to paint a toy theatre and make it truly your own.
This is a pre-order item. You can be one of the first people to buy this latest toy theatre for the Christmas and New Year season. Please note: for UK orders, I will try my best to ship it before Christmas. For International orders you will likely receive your toy theatre in the lull between Christmas and New Year (the ideal time to perform a toy theatre play as it happens!), or early in the New Year, so it can also serve as a New Year gift. Pollocks will be officially launching this in Spring 2024 so this is an extra special festive gift for now.
Shipping: the shipping costs reflect the nature of the item; it's A3 sized and will be sent as a parcel internationally. If you are from the EU, please use the code EUTOYTHEATRES for £10 off your shipping costs.
Your theatre comes complete with a full 8 pages of Scenes, Wings and Characters as well as detailed Instructions, Character Bios and a Synopsis Script Proposal for you to set up and perform your very own play - and all for only £49! Is it a bargain? Oh yes it is! Full instructions and a video tutorial can be found here: https://www.theperfectbrush.co.uk/watch - scroll down to see the video and read more.
If you would like to find out more about the details, extensive research and thinking and go 'behind the scenes' of the toy theatre, see here: https://www.vaishaliprazmari.com/toytheatres
If you would like to learn more about the fine art of Indo-Persian manuscript miniature painting, which is a technique you can use to paint your toy theatre, please visit: www.vaishaliprazmariteaching.com
Paper theatres, miniature theatres, model theatres and toy theatres allow you to play many roles. You can be an artist, architect, theatre director, costume and set designer, stage manager, FX supervisor and actor all in one. And you can even film and record your plays! If you do, I’d love to see so please do share and tag @vaishaliprazmari if so!