miniature playhouses for a very small audience

cigars clamped between
their teeth:

i've read that goethe, hans christian andersen, and lewis carroll were managers of their own miniature theatres. there must have been many other such playhouses in the world. we study the history and literature of the period, but we know nothing about these plays that were being performed for an audience of one.

(text from charles simic's absolutely stellar: dime-store alchemy, the art of joseph cornell
drawings by goethe, hans christian andersen, and lewis carroll.)