Hardy miniature theatre story plays out at auction
As a Victorian realist writer Thomas Hardy captured the lives of characters struggling with passion and circumstance against the backdrop of rural England.
Now a miniature theatre, used by a troupe of amateur actors to create the backdrops for plays of the author's works, is up for auction in Hardy's home town - much to the marvel of one of the troupe's original players, who is now 102.
The Hardy Players, who performed between 1908 and 1928, used the 9.5 x 9.5in model theatre to test out the technical details of set designs before they were built full size in Dorchester's Corn Exchange. Hardy, who initially viewed the group with scepticism, became actively involved in productions in later years and the plays, often performed for illiterate audiences, became an important medium. Amy Brenan, an auctioneer and valuer for Duke's auctioneers in Dorchester, said the theatre was part of the process that brought Hardy's works to the very people he tried to capture in his writing.
"When the Hardy Players first started he wanted nothing to do with them. He didn't want to be associated with something that could change his works," she said. "But much later on, in the 1920s, he became involved in helping them, including help with script adaptations. A lot of people in their audiences couldn't read so the plays were very important for getting his works across."..
Read entire article at Guardian (UK)
Now a miniature theatre, used by a troupe of amateur actors to create the backdrops for plays of the author's works, is up for auction in Hardy's home town - much to the marvel of one of the troupe's original players, who is now 102.
The Hardy Players, who performed between 1908 and 1928, used the 9.5 x 9.5in model theatre to test out the technical details of set designs before they were built full size in Dorchester's Corn Exchange. Hardy, who initially viewed the group with scepticism, became actively involved in productions in later years and the plays, often performed for illiterate audiences, became an important medium. Amy Brenan, an auctioneer and valuer for Duke's auctioneers in Dorchester, said the theatre was part of the process that brought Hardy's works to the very people he tried to capture in his writing.
"When the Hardy Players first started he wanted nothing to do with them. He didn't want to be associated with something that could change his works," she said. "But much later on, in the 1920s, he became involved in helping them, including help with script adaptations. A lot of people in their audiences couldn't read so the plays were very important for getting his works across."..