Toffle

In the performance program, it was told that writer Tove Jansson once had a letter from a boy who signed as Toffle. "You don't know me", he wrote, and he told her that there were many he admired and would like to meet. But what was he to do when he always felt like an outsider, and was afraid of everything? That was when Tove made her illustrated book about comforting Toffle."

Toffle was played by Knut Wiulsrød.

Sceneweb refers to the other puppets registered in the database from the same production. They are The Hemulin (Norwegian: Hemulen), Miffle (Norwegian: Nurket) and Mrs. Fillyjonk (Norwegian: Filifjonk).

SOURCES:

Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre). Performance program.

Donated by: Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre). Knut Wiulsrød.

Transported 28.05.2020.

The head of Toffle (Norwegian: Knøttet) was cut from Styrofoam, fortified with cotton gauze and glue, and covered with thin glove leather. Next, the face was coloured with dry pastel, with markings made in marker pen. Toffle's hair was made from fur. The glove puppet was made of an undersleeve adjusted to the puppeteer's hand, and a shaped, looser oversleeve/costume. The fabric was cotton, soft for the sake of the hand's mobility and the expression. The puppet had five fingers, as opposed to the more common four.

Toffle was constructed as a glove puppet with its hand position adjusted to the puppeteer's technique. The most common position of fingers in a glove puppet places the index finger in the puppet's head, the middle finger, the ring finger and the little finger as its right hand, and the thumb as its left hand. Acting with glove puppets is miniature theatre, and precision is required to achieve communication with the audience.