Little Theatre of Disease & Desire

A new project by artist Daniel Baker, created during his residency at The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret in 2007. The project centres on a paper model theatre, a contemporary version of the toy theatres that were popular during the 18th and early 19th Century in Europe.
Daniel Baker's theatre has been built to display a series of scenes from a play entitled The Simbysial Case. The story of the play is the story of a disease. The central character is The Patient, a character called The Doctor often accompanies him, and together they try to uncover the nature of the strange illness that The Patient is suffering. The narrative is a journey of discovery: a voyage of mystery and danger that never leaves The Patient's room. On this journey he meets a cast of unusual characters such as The Two Headed Leech, The Examinator, The Tiny Surgeon, and The Flock of Bloodied Aprons.
The Little Theatre of Disease and Desire will take centre stage in the Old Operating Theatre, and the changing scenes and characters will be displayed as slideshow animations. Smaller theatres that have been used as 'mock-ups' to test ideas and narratives will be displayed in the Herb Garret.