Dracula – A Toy Theatre
Dublin Core
Title
Dracula – A Toy Theatre
Subject
Theatre
Description
“Dracula – A Toy Theatre” (BDCM, 32507) is a large paper book designed with the intention that the illustrated elements would be cut out and assembled into a paper facsimile of a Dracula stage adaptation. The first few pages include some background on the illustrator, Edward Gorey, and his work on the 1977 Dracula play, which the toy theatre is based on, as well as instructions on how to assemble the toy and a simplified version of the play’s plot which can be acted out on the three sets the toy forms. The book also includes props and character pictures that can be made into puppets rather than just the sets.
As clarified in a description on the title page of the book, the toy theatre is based on the 1977 run of the Dracula stage play, which was held at the Martin Beck Theatre in New York from October 1977 to January 1980. Edward Gorey, the designer and illustrator of the book, was the costume and set designer for the play and won a Tony Award for his costumes. This particular iteration of the play was based on the script by Hamilton Dean and later edited by John L. Balderston in 1927, whose Broadway run starred Bela Lugosi, the archetypal Dracula. Charles Selber, who is also the publisher, suggested the idea of turning Gorey’s designs into the toy theatre. Iterations of this book are still in production today and are one of over a hundred of Gorey’s own published works.
This item's presence in the archive raises an interesting question about the influence of film. On its home page, the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum describes itself as “home to one of the largest collections of material relating to the moving image in Britain” (Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, 2017) and yet the Dracula Toy Theatre is based on a stage play whose script was written before any Dracula film. The 1927 Broadway run starring Lugosi eventually inspired Tod Browning’s 1931 film, but despite both being loosely adapted from the same script, the 1931 film and the toy theatre have minimal relation. The main identifier of the toy theatre as an item “relating to the moving image” is its connection to the filmic persona of Dracula as a whole. The figure of Dracula that is stereotypically thought of is primarily based on the imagery and syntax developed in Bela Lugosi’s version of the character. As Tim Kane puts it, “all subsequent movies would, to one degree or another, look back upon this film for inspiration” (Kane, 22). The dramatic use of Dracula’s cape to drape over victims, his look as “deathly pale with full dark lips” (Kane, 24) and even the accident that would become synonymous with the character all originated with Lugosi; the accident being due to the fact that Lugosi had to learn his lines phonetically as he was a non-native English speaker. In terms of how Dracula is thought of, he is undoubtedly film’s creation, so despite no direct relation between the toy theatre and any film, it can still be considered an item relating to the moving image since it employs that same imagery in its sets and puppet designs. One could argue for a more direct connection due to both products, the 1931 film and the toy theatre, being based on plays which use Hamilton Dean’s script, but since they have different casts, directors, and designers and were held fifty years apart, the connection still does not seem very strong.
The decision to create a toy theatre of the 1977 Dracula stage play is rooted in the play's historical setting. The play is set during the Victorian era (sometime between 1837 and 1901) when toy theatres were popular souvenirs. In her review of George Speaight’s The History of the English Toy Theatre, Suzanne Rahn describes how this “nineteenth-century pastime” consisted of “printed sheets of characters, props, and scenery for each production; [that were] available in both ‘penny plain’ and ‘twopence coloured’ versions, along with specially adapted scripts” (Rahn, 113) much like our contemporary Dracula Toy Theatre. These toys were mostly based on real productions and often in collaboration with the theatre companies themselves as a type of memorabilia. Evolving from several similar kinds of items, such as full-length actor portraits and cut-out character storybooks, which resulted in the creation of the toy theatre around 1835, though they were initially “intended for adult fans” (Rahn, 114). The choice to recreate this particular style of toy seems to act as a further step toward immersion in the world of the play, as I could not find evidence that this style of toy came back into fashion in the 1970’s or since.
This recreation of an example of pre-cinema visual culture relates it to other items in the Bill Douglas Museum and Archive. The museum contains many examples of similar items, such as the ‘Toy Shadow Theatre: Theatre d’Ombres’, a type of theatre toy model made of paper and cardboard. However, the aspects of the toy which are meant to be enjoyable differ between toy theatres and shadow theatres. While both are recreations of a theatre meant to help recreate plays with sets and characters, a part of the toy theatre’s appeal comes from its creative aspect, the ability to assemble it. In contrast, the shadow theatre is created by an artist, and the stage would be almost fully assembled when purchased. Rahn analyses this by saying, “The ‘sport’ of the toy theatre combined occupation for the hands as the child coloured, cut out, and mounted the paper figures and scenery, with an invitation to the imagination to invent stories around them or to visualize an ideal performance play” (Rahn, 123) suggesting appeal of the toy theatre was two-fold as both its construction and its use in play acted as a creative stimulus in different fashions. The emphasis on construction also suggests that this style of toy is intended for an older child as it requires a certain level of coordination and dexterity to cut out and assemble the items from the book, not to mention the need for possibly dangerous tools like scissors.
The Dracula Toy Theatre itself is copyrighted under the Berne Convention, which “stipulates that member countries must provide certain minimum protections for authors and recognize the rights of foreign creators, thus facilitating the international exchange of creative works.” (Generis Global, 2024) This is particularly important regarding this item since it exists as a result of an adapted play. Hamilton Dean, who wrote the script for the play, and Bram Stoker, who wrote the original novel, were both Irish, and neither’s work was out of copyright when this book was first published in 1978. Edward Gorey was American, and the production of the play he worked on was also American, making the creation of this version of the play, and therefore, the book based on it, an international collaboration.
Bibliography:
“Dracula (Broadway, al Hirschfeld Theatre, 1977).” Playbill, 2024, playbill.com/production/dracula-martin-beck-theatre-vault-0000008232./ Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
“Dracula: A Toy Theatre. The Sets and Costumes of the Broadway Production of the Play Designed by Edward Gorey - the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum.” Bdcmuseum.org.uk, 2024, www.bdcmuseum.org.uk/explore/item/32507/. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
“Edward Gorey Biography.” The Edward Gorey House, www.edwardgoreyhouse.org/pages/edward-gorey-biography./ Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
Generis Legal Intelligence. “Understanding Copyright Protection Laws in France.” Generis Global Legal Services, 15 Nov. 2024, generisonline.com/understanding-copyright-protection-laws-in-france/. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
“Home - the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum.” Bdcmuseum.org.uk, 2017, www.bdcmuseum.org.uk./ Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
Kane, Tim. The Changing Vampire of Film and Television : A Critical Study of the Growth of a Genre. Jefferson, N.C., Mcfarland & Co, 2006.
Rahn, Suzanne. “Rediscovering the Toy Theatre—with a Review of George Speaight’s the History of the English Toy Theatre.” The Lion and the Unicorn, vol. 11, no. 2, 1987, pp. 111–127, https://doi.org/10.1353/uni.0.0255. / Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
“Visit the Museum / about the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum - the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum.” Bdcmuseum.org.uk, 2020, www.bdcmuseum.org.uk/visit/about-the-bill-douglas-cinema-museum/. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
As clarified in a description on the title page of the book, the toy theatre is based on the 1977 run of the Dracula stage play, which was held at the Martin Beck Theatre in New York from October 1977 to January 1980. Edward Gorey, the designer and illustrator of the book, was the costume and set designer for the play and won a Tony Award for his costumes. This particular iteration of the play was based on the script by Hamilton Dean and later edited by John L. Balderston in 1927, whose Broadway run starred Bela Lugosi, the archetypal Dracula. Charles Selber, who is also the publisher, suggested the idea of turning Gorey’s designs into the toy theatre. Iterations of this book are still in production today and are one of over a hundred of Gorey’s own published works.
This item's presence in the archive raises an interesting question about the influence of film. On its home page, the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum describes itself as “home to one of the largest collections of material relating to the moving image in Britain” (Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, 2017) and yet the Dracula Toy Theatre is based on a stage play whose script was written before any Dracula film. The 1927 Broadway run starring Lugosi eventually inspired Tod Browning’s 1931 film, but despite both being loosely adapted from the same script, the 1931 film and the toy theatre have minimal relation. The main identifier of the toy theatre as an item “relating to the moving image” is its connection to the filmic persona of Dracula as a whole. The figure of Dracula that is stereotypically thought of is primarily based on the imagery and syntax developed in Bela Lugosi’s version of the character. As Tim Kane puts it, “all subsequent movies would, to one degree or another, look back upon this film for inspiration” (Kane, 22). The dramatic use of Dracula’s cape to drape over victims, his look as “deathly pale with full dark lips” (Kane, 24) and even the accident that would become synonymous with the character all originated with Lugosi; the accident being due to the fact that Lugosi had to learn his lines phonetically as he was a non-native English speaker. In terms of how Dracula is thought of, he is undoubtedly film’s creation, so despite no direct relation between the toy theatre and any film, it can still be considered an item relating to the moving image since it employs that same imagery in its sets and puppet designs. One could argue for a more direct connection due to both products, the 1931 film and the toy theatre, being based on plays which use Hamilton Dean’s script, but since they have different casts, directors, and designers and were held fifty years apart, the connection still does not seem very strong.
The decision to create a toy theatre of the 1977 Dracula stage play is rooted in the play's historical setting. The play is set during the Victorian era (sometime between 1837 and 1901) when toy theatres were popular souvenirs. In her review of George Speaight’s The History of the English Toy Theatre, Suzanne Rahn describes how this “nineteenth-century pastime” consisted of “printed sheets of characters, props, and scenery for each production; [that were] available in both ‘penny plain’ and ‘twopence coloured’ versions, along with specially adapted scripts” (Rahn, 113) much like our contemporary Dracula Toy Theatre. These toys were mostly based on real productions and often in collaboration with the theatre companies themselves as a type of memorabilia. Evolving from several similar kinds of items, such as full-length actor portraits and cut-out character storybooks, which resulted in the creation of the toy theatre around 1835, though they were initially “intended for adult fans” (Rahn, 114). The choice to recreate this particular style of toy seems to act as a further step toward immersion in the world of the play, as I could not find evidence that this style of toy came back into fashion in the 1970’s or since.
This recreation of an example of pre-cinema visual culture relates it to other items in the Bill Douglas Museum and Archive. The museum contains many examples of similar items, such as the ‘Toy Shadow Theatre: Theatre d’Ombres’, a type of theatre toy model made of paper and cardboard. However, the aspects of the toy which are meant to be enjoyable differ between toy theatres and shadow theatres. While both are recreations of a theatre meant to help recreate plays with sets and characters, a part of the toy theatre’s appeal comes from its creative aspect, the ability to assemble it. In contrast, the shadow theatre is created by an artist, and the stage would be almost fully assembled when purchased. Rahn analyses this by saying, “The ‘sport’ of the toy theatre combined occupation for the hands as the child coloured, cut out, and mounted the paper figures and scenery, with an invitation to the imagination to invent stories around them or to visualize an ideal performance play” (Rahn, 123) suggesting appeal of the toy theatre was two-fold as both its construction and its use in play acted as a creative stimulus in different fashions. The emphasis on construction also suggests that this style of toy is intended for an older child as it requires a certain level of coordination and dexterity to cut out and assemble the items from the book, not to mention the need for possibly dangerous tools like scissors.
The Dracula Toy Theatre itself is copyrighted under the Berne Convention, which “stipulates that member countries must provide certain minimum protections for authors and recognize the rights of foreign creators, thus facilitating the international exchange of creative works.” (Generis Global, 2024) This is particularly important regarding this item since it exists as a result of an adapted play. Hamilton Dean, who wrote the script for the play, and Bram Stoker, who wrote the original novel, were both Irish, and neither’s work was out of copyright when this book was first published in 1978. Edward Gorey was American, and the production of the play he worked on was also American, making the creation of this version of the play, and therefore, the book based on it, an international collaboration.
Bibliography:
“Dracula (Broadway, al Hirschfeld Theatre, 1977).” Playbill, 2024, playbill.com/production/dracula-martin-beck-theatre-vault-0000008232./ Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
“Dracula: A Toy Theatre. The Sets and Costumes of the Broadway Production of the Play Designed by Edward Gorey - the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum.” Bdcmuseum.org.uk, 2024, www.bdcmuseum.org.uk/explore/item/32507/. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
“Edward Gorey Biography.” The Edward Gorey House, www.edwardgoreyhouse.org/pages/edward-gorey-biography./ Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
Generis Legal Intelligence. “Understanding Copyright Protection Laws in France.” Generis Global Legal Services, 15 Nov. 2024, generisonline.com/understanding-copyright-protection-laws-in-france/. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
“Home - the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum.” Bdcmuseum.org.uk, 2017, www.bdcmuseum.org.uk./ Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
Kane, Tim. The Changing Vampire of Film and Television : A Critical Study of the Growth of a Genre. Jefferson, N.C., Mcfarland & Co, 2006.
Rahn, Suzanne. “Rediscovering the Toy Theatre—with a Review of George Speaight’s the History of the English Toy Theatre.” The Lion and the Unicorn, vol. 11, no. 2, 1987, pp. 111–127, https://doi.org/10.1353/uni.0.0255. / Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
“Visit the Museum / about the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum - the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum.” Bdcmuseum.org.uk, 2020, www.bdcmuseum.org.uk/visit/about-the-bill-douglas-cinema-museum/. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
Creator
Edward Corey
Source
Dracula by Bram Stoker, The adapted stage play by 1978
Publisher
Charles Scribner’s Sons – New York
Date
1979
Contributor
Charles Selber
Rights
Copyright under the Berne Convention
Format
Book with images designed to be cut out and assembled
Language
English
Type
Book
Identifier
BDCM32507
Coverage
Stage plays, Gothic stories
Files
Collection
Citation
Edward Corey, “Dracula – A Toy Theatre,” Archival Encounters: Digital Exhibitions form the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, accessed January 22, 2025, https://humanities-research.exeter.ac.uk/archivalencounters/items/show/69.