Holding Up the Queue: Recent Episodes
Benjamin Pollock's Toyshop
Escapades and adventures in art, theatre, storytelling, pantomime and spectacle brought to you from our Covent Garden toy shop floor and hosted by Pollock’s very own Simon Seddon.
Theatre designer Christopher Oram is next in the queue joining Simon and author & illustrator Brian Selznick in part 2 of episode 5 From childhood influences to a stellar career designing for the theatre, Christopher discusses how he has come full circle. Creating imaginary worlds as a kid dreaming of Star Wars to creating the...
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Writer and illustrator Brian Selznick talks to Simon about the art of piecing together a page turner and how children’s books can be a guide and friend in navigating life as a child. Brian’s black and white illustrations set the scene for the reader to dream in colour. His 2007 book ‘The Invention of Hugo...
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Author and illustrator Brian Selznick talks to Simon about the art of creating a page turner for children and adults alike and how children’s books can be a guide and friend in navigating life as a child.Brian’s black and white illustrations set the scene for the reader to dream in colour. His 2007 book ‘The Invention of Hugo Cabret' was turned into a film about silent movie maestro Georges Méliès by Martin Scorcese. Hugo and Billy Marvel, castaway protagonists are central to two of Brian’s award winning children’s books. Billy in 'The Marvels' survives a shipwreck and later finds work in a London theatre. Hugo lives in the wall of a Paris station and has to unlock a mystery of a mechanical man and a penniless toy shop owner. These orphan heroes join Cinderella, Pip from Great Expectations, Lyra from His Dark Materials, Peter Pan, Alice, Max from Where the Wild Things Are and Harry Potter in the realm of great foundlings of children's literature. Survivors, brave and bold children who find themselves in a world, absent of parents. Weaving the themes of fragmentation, scraps and memories throughout their discussion Brian and Simon are joined by theatre designer Christopher Oram. HUTQ 5 is the first part of a double episode where both guests talk of their childhood influences and the importance of the childhood imagination in a creative career.
The Doll: The original influencer, a companion, confidante and co-conspirator, what is the role now for the doll in this age when playthings are replaced by avatars on screens? As the popularity of the doll wanes, is she lost or are we? Holding Up The Queue with Simon in this the 4th episode of the podcast...
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The Doll: The original influencer, a companion, confidante and co-conspirator, what is the role now for the doll in this age when playthings are replaced by avatars on screens? As the popularity of the doll wanes, is she lost or are we? Holding Up The Queue with Simon in this the 4th episode of the podcast from Benjamin Pollock’s Toyshop is the artist, doll photographer and instagram sensation Eileen Lam. Simon and Eileen discuss the Doll and the journey of this miniature ambassador on the road to idealism.
Holding Up the Queue with Simon this episode is Clive Hicks-Jenkins, an artist who has retained that essential spark of playfulness from childhood. Leaving his parents in Wales aged 12 to travel to the bright lights of London, Clive embarked on his metaphorical journey “from the forest to the fantastical”. Simon and Clive meander and...
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Simon and artist Charlotte Cory embark on a spirited discussion on anthropomorphism – from Victorian taxidermy tableaus to the transformative power of play and illustration. These absurd worlds, populated by anthropomorphic inhabitants can help to encourage confidence in children and a sense of liberated perception of others through “pure fantasy”. Charlotte Cory certainly knows how...
The post Holding Up the Queue: Anthropomorphism and Children’s Toys, Illustration and Literature with artist & writer Charlotte Cory appeared first on Benjamin Pollock's Toyshop.
Close your eyes and picture a box that contains a world of magical wonders. A fantastical machine imbued with enchantments powered to life by the imagination and dreams of the seeker, searching for answers to lost and hidden questions, held crystallised like a beating heart within its four walls. This is no ordinary box, but...
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