Theatre and TV Props - Driftwood Dreams

Alastair Darling charicature sculpture in papier mache

Papier mache and driftwood prop for play

Basel masks created for secondary school drama department

Theatre and TV Props

Papier mache is the perfect medium to create items of a different size, as a surreal vision or just to create an item which does not exist. Anita is great at coming up with ideas and designing the perfect item that your require. Take a look at the gallery below and see what can be conjured up.

Alistair Darling receives Anita Russell's Papier Mache sculpture

Anita created a 26 inch Alastair Darling money box for Channel 5’s coverage of the budget. This money box became quite the celebrity. Channel 5 described the scene “The Five News Alistair Darling money box has caused a bit of a stir. The two foot papier mache model became a minor celebrity around the budget as he popped up in pubs, petrol forecourts and next to fancy cars”. The model was also a metaphor for the ‘papier-mache chancellor’.

Papier mache can create your most surreal ideas, create props at very small or large scales or realise your dreams. From a notion of an idea Anita can create some designs to form a logo, theme, company prop or personalised item. She can recreate something you have seen and cannot source or copy an existing historical item you cannot purchase. From priceless jewellery to natural elements, from caricatures to fantasy scenarios it can all be made out of papier mache by Anita.

          The press had a field day when the sculpture turned up for filming outside 11 Downing Street        

The photographers went crazy. When the team returned to Downing Street on the afternoon of the budget, the press officers were not amused and asked the little fellow and his crew to leave with a stern ‘no stunts’ retort.

Matt Etheridge, a Channel 5 news producer, commissioned the sculpture and described the coverage as a ‘triumph’.
Oh and by the way he was made completely out of Financial Times!

newspaper articles about the papier mache creation of a politician

The poison fish in Princess Ivana was a prop which the theatre company The Poor House Drama School used in one of their productions. The story relates how a kingdom poison the popular Princess. The fish is a key element as it is given as a great celebration but it is actually poisoned. This was a very original way to represent a fish in a fairytale.

Props have been acquired by theatrical companies and recently a set of neutral Basal masks have been made for a drama department. The only school in England to own them. The masks were tailor made to what the Head of Drama required. The movement is exaggerated as you wear the masks so it teaches you to move your body to express your emotions not your face,

Theatre and TV Props photo gallery

Please take a look at the oyster shell which was a table prop for a wedding which was themed as a Pearl wedding. This was used as a table seating plan. There is also a variety of masks including Tragedy and Comedy three foot masks, and two Picasso themed masks. A guitar prop and a large artist’s palette complete with brush.

Wedding place mat shell made of papier mache by Anita Russell