Sadler's Wells Theatre
Encyclopedia
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell
in the London Borough of Islington
. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive rehearsal rooms and technical facilities also housed within the site. Sadler's Wells is one of the United Kingdom's foremost dance venues and producing houses, with a number of associated artists and companies who produce original works for the theatre. Sadler's Wells is also responsible for the management of the Peacock Theatre
in the West End
.
. The name Sadler's Wells originates from his name and the rediscovery of monastic springs on his property. The well water being thought to have medicinal properties, Sadler was prompted to claim that drinking the water from the wells would be effective against "dropsy, jaundice
, scurvy
, green sickness and other distempers to which females are liable – ulcers, fits of the mother, virgin's fever and hypochondriacal distemper."
In 1698 Thomas Guidott
the noted Doctor of Physik who popularised the waters of Bath wrote what he called "A true and exact account of Sadlers Well, or, The new mineral-waters lately found out at Islington treating of its nature and virtues: together with an enumeration of the chiefest diseases which it is good for, and against which it may be used, and the manner and order of taking of it."
This brought the health-giving properties of the hot mineral waters to national attention and an aristocratic clientele was soon attracted from round the country. Thus, this still quite rural location became famous for both water and for music, but as more wells were dug and the exclusiveness of Sadler's Wells declined, so did the quality of the entertainment provided – along with the quality of the clientele who were described as "vermin trained up to the gallows" by a contemporary, while, by 1711, Sadler's Wells was characterized as "a nursery of debauchery."
By the mid-18th century, the existence of two "Theatres Royal" – in Covent Garden
and Drury Lane
– severely limited the ability of other London theatres to perform any drama combined with music, and. Sadler's Wells continued its downward spiral.
In the latter half of the 18th century the theatre presented a wide variety of productions. There were patriotic plays and pageants such as "A Fig For The French", which was produced to boost national morale after a heavy British defeat in a sea-battle off Grenada
at the hands of the French and Spanish fleets. A stirring spectacle reflecting the Fall of the Bastille won from the previously hostile Public Advertiser newspaper the enthusiastic review: "...finer scenes of greater effect have not been produced at any Theatre for many years".
During the early years of the 19th century, many famous actors appeared at the theatre, including Edmund Kean
, as well as popular comedians such as Joseph Grimaldi
who for all his gifts as a dramatic actor, is best remembered as the creator of "Joey the Clown" complete with the rouge half-moons on either cheek. However, the period was characterised by much public drunkenness and loutish behaviour, and the rural location prompted the management to provide escorts for patrons after dark to conduct them into central London.
With the construction of a large tank, flooded from the nearby New River
, an Aquatic Theatre
was used to stage extravagant naval melodramas, such as The Siege of Gibraltar. The theatre also presented successful adaptations of popular novels of the time, such as A Christmas Carol
, The Old Curiosity Shop
, which ran during January 1841.
Just as Sadler's Wells seemed at its lowest ebb, an unexpected champion arrived in the shape of the actor-manager Samuel Phelps
. His advent coincided with the passing of the Theatres Act 1843
which broke the duopoly in drama of the Theatres Royal
and so Phelps was able to introduce a programme of Shakespeare
to the Wells. His productions (from 1844 to 1862), notably of Macbeth
(1844), Antony and Cleopatra
(1849) and Pericles
(1854), were much admired. The well-known actress Isabella Glyn
made her first notable appearance as Lady Macbeth on this stage.
In latter part of the 19th century the pendulum swung back to melodrama
by the 1860s. This period of the theatre's history is affectionately depicted in Pinero
's play Trelawny of the 'Wells'
(1898), which portrays Sadler's Wells as outmoded by the new fashion for realism
. The theatre declined until, by 1875, plans to turn it into a bath house were proposed and, for a while, the new craze of roller skating
was catered to, as the theatre was converted into a roller-skating rink and later a prize fight arena. The theatre was condemned as a dangerous structure in 1878.
and featured the legendary performers Marie Lloyd
and Harry Champion
among its stars. Roy Redgrave
, founder of the theatrical dynasty also appeared there.
In 1896, the theatre was converted into a cinema. Patrons were amazed by the moving pictures of the Theatregraph with film of Persimmon winning the Epsom Derby
and a saucy vignette entitled "The Soldier and His Sweetheart Spooning on a Seat".
After a succession of managements in the 20th century, the theatre became increasingly run-down and closed in 1915.
theatre, Lilian Baylis
felt that her opera and drama productions needed to expand. In that year. she invited the Duke of Devonshire
to make a public appeal for funds to set up a charitable foundation to buy Sadler's Wells for the nation. The appeal committee included such diverse and influential figures as Winston Churchill
, Stanley Baldwin
, G. K. Chesterton
, John Galsworthy
, Dame Ethel Smyth
and Sir Thomas Beecham
. It was not long before enough money had been amassed to buy the freehold.
Also in 1925, Baylis began collaborating with the ballet teacher Ninette de Valois
, a former dancer with Sergei Diaghilev
's Ballets Russes
. At the time, de Valois was teaching in her own dance school, the Academy of Choreographic Art, but had contacted Baylis with a proposal to form a repertory ballet company and school. So in 1931 when Sadler's Wells was reopened, de Valois was allocated rehearsal rooms in the theatre and established the Sadler's Wells Ballet School and the Vic-Wells Ballet. The ballet company performed at both the Sadler's Wells and Old Vic theatres. The company grew as the school trained new dancers to join the company. The first principal dancers of the Vic-Wells ballet were Alicia Markova
and Anton Dolin
and the founder choreographer was Frederick Ashton
, all three having been working with the Ballet Club of Marie Rambert
.
Designed by F.G.M. Chancellor of Matcham & Co, the new theatre opened on 6 January 1931 with a production of Twelfth Night and a cast headed by Ralph Richardson
as Sir Toby Belch and John Gielgud
as Malvolio
. At the beginning of Baylis's management of Sadler's Wells, it was intended that the two theatres should each offer alternating programmes of drama and opera. This happened for a short while, but it soon became clear that it was not only impractical, but also made dubious commercial sense: drama flourished at the Old Vic but lagged behind opera and dance in popularity at the Wells. The Vic-Wells Opera Company was the name of the opera company performing at Sadler's Wells. By 1933/34 season the drama company under Tyrone Guthrie
included a range of acting talent including Charles Laughton
, Peggy Ashcroft
, Flora Robson
, Athene Seyler
, Marius Goring
and James Mason
.
From 1940, while the theatre was closed during the Second World War, the ballet company toured throughout the country, and on its return changed its name to the Sadler's Wells Ballet. Similarly, the opera company toured to return as Sadler's Wells Opera Company, and it reopened the theatre with Benjamin Britten
's Peter Grimes
.
In 1946, with the re-opening of the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the ballet company was invited to become the resident company there. De Valois decided that a second company was needed to continue ballet performances at Sadler's Wells, and so the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet was formed, with John Field
as artistic director. The Sadler's Wells company later relocated to Covent Garden, where it was incorporated into the Royal Ballet's charter in 1956, becoming The Royal Ballet Touring Company. After a number of years as a touring group, it returned to Sadler's Wells in 1976, becoming the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet.
In 1987, the Birmingham Hippodrome and Birmingham City Council invited Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet to re-locate to Birmingham. It did so in 1990 and changed its name to Birmingham Royal Ballet. Since the departure of the company, there has not been a resident ballet company at Sadler's Wells.
The opera company moved out of Sadler's Wells Theatre to the London Coliseum in 1968 and was later renamed English National Opera
. Sadler's Wells Theatre then became a temporary home both for foreign companies and those within the UK looking for a metropolitan shop-window. In addition, Sadler's Wells, strategically near but not in the West End, was seen as the ideal launching-pad for artists at the outset of their careers.
Throughout the 1970s a rich diversity of attractions appeared at Sadler's Wells, recapturing something of its former eclecticism. Productions ranged from Handel Opera to the Black Theatre of Prague, to the Netherlands Dance Theatre with its controversial nudity. Also appearing during this period were Merce Cunningham
, Marcel Marceau
, the Kabuki Theatre, the Dance Theatre of Harlem
and the Kodo Drummers from Japan. A disadvantage of such a diverse programme was that it prevented the theatre from having a consistent public image.
Briefly in the 1980s, the theatre established the New Sadler's Wells Opera company to play Gilbert and Sullivan
and other light opera. The company had some success for a few years and then severed its relationship with the theatre around 1986 and became a touring company. It finally went out of business in 1989.
The first performances of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake – which uniquely included an all-male cast of swans – took place in the main house in November 1995, before embarking on a UK tour then playing in the West End.
The Lilian Baylis Theatre opened in October 1988 and it appeared that a permanent theatre company might emerge, but this was limited by funding difficulties.
In 1994 Ian Albery became chief executive of Sadler's Wells and presided over the planning and eventual rebuilding of the theatre. On 30 June 1996, the last performance was given at the old theatre before the bulldozers moved in. On St. Valentine's Day the following February a more unusual ceremony took place when Albery buried a time capsule under the centre stalls of the new building.
with sets designed by Derek Jarman
and Laurence Bennett. The £54 million project was one of the first projects to receive funding from the National Lottery
– which contributed £42 million. The new design gave a stage which was wider and deeper and able to accommodate much larger companies and productions than the one it replaced. A new layout to the auditorium accommodated more seats. An extension at the side of the building provided a new ticket office and foyers rising to the full height of the theatre, provided easier audience access to all levels and included bars, cafes and exhibition spaces. As well as the 1,500 seat main auditorium, Sadler's Wells also has a base at the Peacock Theatre
near the Aldwych
in central London. The rebuilt Sadler's Wells retains the Grade II listing applied to the former theatre in 1950. It also retains access to the remains of the historic wells that still lie beneath the theatre. The architect was RHWL, the acoustic consultant was Arup Acoustics.
In 2001, Sadler's Wells joined in collaboration with the Random Dance director Wayne McGregor and animations company Hotbox Studios, headed by Mark Hatchard
. The 10th anniversary piece Nemesis ran until 2001.
When Ian Albery retired as chief executive in October 2002 he was succeeded by Jean Luc Choplin, who had recently worked for Disneyland in Paris and Los Angeles and at one time worked with Rudolf Nureyev
as a managing director of the Paris Opera Ballet
. Although his contract ran until 2007, in January 2004 Choplin announced that he would be taking up a post at the Théâtre du Châtelet
, Paris in 2006 and left shortly afterwards.
Under the artistic directorship of Alistair Spalding
since 2004, Sadler's Wells has expanded to become a production house as well as a receiving house
hosting performances by visiting companies from the UK and around the world. Balletboyz Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, Matthew Bourne's New Adventures
, Sylvie Guillem
, Akram Khan
, Jonzi D, Russell Maliphant, Wayne McGregor
, Jasmin Vardimon and Christopher Wheeldon
are all associate artists/companies at Sadler's Wells. This creates opportunities for them to work alongside each other and other collaborators in developing new work. Breakin' Convention
, the International Festival of hip hop dance theatre has been produced annually by Sadler's Wells since 2004.
zero degrees, a collaboration between dance artists Akram Khan and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, visual artist Antony Gormley
and composer Nitin Sawhney
and PUSH, a programme of work made by Russell Maliphant for himself and Sylvie Guillem, are two of the award-winning productions to emerge from the new Sadler's Wells.
In March 2009, Sadler's Wells launched the Global Dance Contest - an online competition to find new dance talent from around the world. The competition will run for four years, with a winner receiving a cash prize and the chance to perform at Sadler's Wells Sampled, the taster weekend which each January showcases the huge range of dance to be seen throughout the year at the theatre. The first winner was Shu-Yi Chou, a 26 year old choreographer from Taiwan. His work '[1875] Ravel and Bolero' was performed at Sadler's Wells on 30 and 31 January 2010.
holds the archive of Sadler's Wells Theatre, with material dating from 1712 onwards.
Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell is an area of central London in the London Borough of Islington. From 1900 to 1965 it was part of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. The well after which it was named was rediscovered in 1924. The watchmaking and watch repairing trades were once of great importance...
in the London Borough of Islington
London Borough of Islington
The London Borough of Islington is a London borough in Inner London. It was formed in 1965 by merging the former metropolitan boroughs of Islington and Finsbury. The borough contains two Westminster parliamentary constituencies, Islington North and Islington South & Finsbury...
. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive rehearsal rooms and technical facilities also housed within the site. Sadler's Wells is one of the United Kingdom's foremost dance venues and producing houses, with a number of associated artists and companies who produce original works for the theatre. Sadler's Wells is also responsible for the management of the Peacock Theatre
Peacock Theatre
The Peacock Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Portugal Street, near Aldwych. The 999-seat house is owned by, and comprises part of the London School of Economics and Political Science campus, who utilise the theatre for lectures, public talks, conferences,...
in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
.
First theatre and pleasure gardens
Richard Sadler opened a "Musick House" in 1683, the second public theatre opened in London after the RestorationEnglish Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
. The name Sadler's Wells originates from his name and the rediscovery of monastic springs on his property. The well water being thought to have medicinal properties, Sadler was prompted to claim that drinking the water from the wells would be effective against "dropsy, jaundice
Jaundice
Jaundice is a yellowish pigmentation of the skin, the conjunctival membranes over the sclerae , and other mucous membranes caused by hyperbilirubinemia . This hyperbilirubinemia subsequently causes increased levels of bilirubin in the extracellular fluid...
, scurvy
Scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...
, green sickness and other distempers to which females are liable – ulcers, fits of the mother, virgin's fever and hypochondriacal distemper."
In 1698 Thomas Guidott
Thomas Guidott
Thomas Guidott , an English "doctor of physik" and writer, became one of the 17th century's most prolific physical scientists. He used the analytical techniques of his time to detail and document the properties of the hot mineral springs at Bath, Somerset.-Early studies:Guidott attended Dorchester...
the noted Doctor of Physik who popularised the waters of Bath wrote what he called "A true and exact account of Sadlers Well, or, The new mineral-waters lately found out at Islington treating of its nature and virtues: together with an enumeration of the chiefest diseases which it is good for, and against which it may be used, and the manner and order of taking of it."
This brought the health-giving properties of the hot mineral waters to national attention and an aristocratic clientele was soon attracted from round the country. Thus, this still quite rural location became famous for both water and for music, but as more wells were dug and the exclusiveness of Sadler's Wells declined, so did the quality of the entertainment provided – along with the quality of the clientele who were described as "vermin trained up to the gallows" by a contemporary, while, by 1711, Sadler's Wells was characterized as "a nursery of debauchery."
By the mid-18th century, the existence of two "Theatres Royal" – in Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
and Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
– severely limited the ability of other London theatres to perform any drama combined with music, and. Sadler's Wells continued its downward spiral.
Second and third theatres
Since the Theatres Royal confined themselves to operating during the autumn and winter, Sadler's Wells filled the gap in the entertainment market with its summer season, traditionally launched on Easter Monday. Thomas Rosoman, manager from 1746 to 1771, established the Wells's pedigree for opera production and oversaw the construction of a new stone theatre, in just seven weeks – at a cost of £4,225; it opened in April 1765.In the latter half of the 18th century the theatre presented a wide variety of productions. There were patriotic plays and pageants such as "A Fig For The French", which was produced to boost national morale after a heavy British defeat in a sea-battle off Grenada
Battle of Grenada
The Battle of Grenada took place on 6 July 1779 during the American War of Independence in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy.-Origins:...
at the hands of the French and Spanish fleets. A stirring spectacle reflecting the Fall of the Bastille won from the previously hostile Public Advertiser newspaper the enthusiastic review: "...finer scenes of greater effect have not been produced at any Theatre for many years".
Edmund Kean
Edmund Kean was an English actor, regarded in his time as the greatest ever.-Early life:Kean was born in London. His father was probably Edmund Kean, an architect’s clerk, and his mother was an actress, Anne Carey, daughter of the 18th century composer and playwright Henry Carey...
, as well as popular comedians such as Joseph Grimaldi
Joseph Grimaldi
Joseph Grimaldi , was an English actor and comedian who is perhaps best known for his invention of the modern day whiteface clown. He chiefly appeared at Drury Lane in pantomime where his greatest success was appearing in Harlequin and Mother Goose; or the Golden Egg and followed with a successful...
who for all his gifts as a dramatic actor, is best remembered as the creator of "Joey the Clown" complete with the rouge half-moons on either cheek. However, the period was characterised by much public drunkenness and loutish behaviour, and the rural location prompted the management to provide escorts for patrons after dark to conduct them into central London.
With the construction of a large tank, flooded from the nearby New River
New River (England)
The New River is an artificial waterway in England, opened in 1613 to supply London with fresh drinking water taken from the River Lea and from Amwell Springs , and other springs and wells along its course....
, an Aquatic Theatre
Aqua drama
The theatrical genre of aqua drama that was popular in 19th century France, England, and the United States involved flooding the arenas of circuses for recreations of major naval conflicts and similar aquatic events; some venues participated to such a great extent in this once-popular form as to...
was used to stage extravagant naval melodramas, such as The Siege of Gibraltar. The theatre also presented successful adaptations of popular novels of the time, such as A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
, The Old Curiosity Shop
The Old Curiosity Shop
The Old Curiosity Shop is a novel by Charles Dickens. The plot follows the life of Nell Trent and her grandfather, both residents of The Old Curiosity Shop in London....
, which ran during January 1841.
Just as Sadler's Wells seemed at its lowest ebb, an unexpected champion arrived in the shape of the actor-manager Samuel Phelps
Samuel Phelps
Samuel Phelps was an English actor and theatre manager...
. His advent coincided with the passing of the Theatres Act 1843
Theatres Act 1843
The Theatres Act 1843 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It amended the regime established under the Licensing Act 1737 for the licensing of the theatre in the UK, implementing the proposals made by a select committee of the House of Commons in 1832.Under the Licensing Act 1737 The...
which broke the duopoly in drama of the Theatres Royal
Theatre Royal
Theatre Royal is the name of many theatres, especially in the United Kingdom. The name was once an indication that the theatre was a patent theatre, with a Royal Patent without which performances of serious drama would be illegal.United Kingdom:...
and so Phelps was able to introduce a programme of Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
to the Wells. His productions (from 1844 to 1862), notably of Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
(1844), Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony...
(1849) and Pericles
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
Pericles, Prince of Tyre is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio...
(1854), were much admired. The well-known actress Isabella Glyn
Isabella Glyn
Isabella Glyn Dallas was a well-known Victorian-era Shakespearean actress.-Life:Isabella Glyn Dallas was born in Edinburgh on 22 May 1823. She made her first stage appearance in Manchester under her mother's maiden name of Glyn on 8 November 1847, where she appeared as Constance in Shakespeare's...
made her first notable appearance as Lady Macbeth on this stage.
In latter part of the 19th century the pendulum swung back to melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
by the 1860s. This period of the theatre's history is affectionately depicted in Pinero
Arthur Wing Pinero
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director.-Biography:...
's play Trelawny of the 'Wells'
Trelawny of the 'Wells'
Trelawny of the 'Wells' is an 1898 comic play by Arthur Wing Pinero. It tells the story of a theatre star who attempts to give up the stage for love, but is unable to fit into conventional society.-Synopsis:...
(1898), which portrays Sadler's Wells as outmoded by the new fashion for realism
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
. The theatre declined until, by 1875, plans to turn it into a bath house were proposed and, for a while, the new craze of roller skating
Roller skating
Roller skating is the traveling on smooth surfaces with roller skates. It is a form of recreation as well as a sport, and can also be a form of transportation. Skates generally come in two basic varieties: quad roller skates and inline skates or blades, though some have experimented with a...
was catered to, as the theatre was converted into a roller-skating rink and later a prize fight arena. The theatre was condemned as a dangerous structure in 1878.
Fourth theatre
After re-opening as a theatre in 1879, it became a music hallMusic hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
and featured the legendary performers Marie Lloyd
Marie Lloyd
Matilda Alice Victoria Wood was an English music hall singer, best known as Marie Lloyd. Her ability to add lewdness to the most innocent of lyrics led to frequent clashes with the guardians of morality...
and Harry Champion
Harry Champion
William Crump , better known by the stage name Harry Champion, was an English music hall composer, singer and Cockney comedian, whose onstage persona appealed chiefly to the working class communities of East London...
among its stars. Roy Redgrave
Roy Redgrave
Roy Redgrave was an English stage and silent film actor. Redgrave was the founder of the Redgrave acting family.-Early life:...
, founder of the theatrical dynasty also appeared there.
In 1896, the theatre was converted into a cinema. Patrons were amazed by the moving pictures of the Theatregraph with film of Persimmon winning the Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
and a saucy vignette entitled "The Soldier and His Sweetheart Spooning on a Seat".
After a succession of managements in the 20th century, the theatre became increasingly run-down and closed in 1915.
Fifth theatre
By 1925 the proprietor of the Old VicOld Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
theatre, Lilian Baylis
Lilian Baylis
Lilian Mary BaylisCH was an English theatrical producer and manager. She managed the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells theatres in London, and ran an opera company, which became the English National Opera , a theatre company, which evolved into the English National Theatre, and a ballet company, which...
felt that her opera and drama productions needed to expand. In that year. she invited the Duke of Devonshire
Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire
Victor Christian William Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire , known as Victor Cavendish until 1908, was a British politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 11th since Canadian Confederation....
to make a public appeal for funds to set up a charitable foundation to buy Sadler's Wells for the nation. The appeal committee included such diverse and influential figures as Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
, G. K. Chesterton
G. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction....
, John Galsworthy
John Galsworthy
John Galsworthy OM was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include The Forsyte Saga and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter...
, Dame Ethel Smyth
Ethel Smyth
Dame Ethel Mary Smyth, DBE was an English composer and a leader of the women's suffrage movement.- Early career :...
and Sir Thomas Beecham
Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...
. It was not long before enough money had been amassed to buy the freehold.
Also in 1925, Baylis began collaborating with the ballet teacher Ninette de Valois
Ninette de Valois
Dame Ninette de Valois, OM, CH, DBE, FRAD, FISTD was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer and director of classical ballet...
, a former dancer with Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev , usually referred to outside of Russia as Serge, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes, from which many famous dancers and choreographers would arise.-Early life and career:...
's Ballets Russes
Ballets Russes
The Ballets Russes was an itinerant ballet company from Russia which performed between 1909 and 1929 in many countries. Directed by Sergei Diaghilev, it is regarded as the greatest ballet company of the 20th century. Many of its dancers originated from the Imperial Ballet of Saint Petersburg...
. At the time, de Valois was teaching in her own dance school, the Academy of Choreographic Art, but had contacted Baylis with a proposal to form a repertory ballet company and school. So in 1931 when Sadler's Wells was reopened, de Valois was allocated rehearsal rooms in the theatre and established the Sadler's Wells Ballet School and the Vic-Wells Ballet. The ballet company performed at both the Sadler's Wells and Old Vic theatres. The company grew as the school trained new dancers to join the company. The first principal dancers of the Vic-Wells ballet were Alicia Markova
Alicia Markova
Dame Alicia Markova, DBE, DMus, was an English ballerina and a choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted for her career with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and touring internationally, she was widely considered to be one of the greatest classical ballet dancers of the...
and Anton Dolin
Anton Dolin
Sir Anton Dolin was an English ballet dancer and choreographer.Dolin was born in Slinfold in Sussex as Sydney Francis Patrick Chippendall Healey-Kay but was generally known as Patrick Kay. He joined Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1921, was a principal there from 1924, and was a principal...
and the founder choreographer was Frederick Ashton
Frederick Ashton
Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton OM, CH, CBE was a leading international dancer and choreographer. He is most noted as the founder choreographer of The Royal Ballet in London, but also worked as a director and choreographer of opera, film and theatre revues.-Early life:Ashton was born at...
, all three having been working with the Ballet Club of Marie Rambert
Marie Rambert
Dame Marie Rambert DBE was a Polish-Jewish dancer and dance pedagogue who exerted a great influence on British ballet, both as a dancer and teacher.- Early years and background :...
.
Designed by F.G.M. Chancellor of Matcham & Co, the new theatre opened on 6 January 1931 with a production of Twelfth Night and a cast headed by Ralph Richardson
Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
as Sir Toby Belch and John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
as Malvolio
Malvolio
Malvolio is the steward of Olivia's household in William Shakespeare's comedy, Twelfth Night, or What You Will.-Style:Malvolio's ethical values are commonly used to define his appearance.In the play, Malvolio is defined as a "kind of" Puritan...
. At the beginning of Baylis's management of Sadler's Wells, it was intended that the two theatres should each offer alternating programmes of drama and opera. This happened for a short while, but it soon became clear that it was not only impractical, but also made dubious commercial sense: drama flourished at the Old Vic but lagged behind opera and dance in popularity at the Wells. The Vic-Wells Opera Company was the name of the opera company performing at Sadler's Wells. By 1933/34 season the drama company under Tyrone Guthrie
Tyrone Guthrie
Sir William Tyrone Guthrie was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, at his family's home, Annaghmakerrig, in County Monaghan, Ireland.-Life and career:Guthrie...
included a range of acting talent including Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
, Peggy Ashcroft
Peggy Ashcroft
Dame Peggy Ashcroft, DBE was an English actress.-Early years:Born as Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft in Croydon, Ashcroft attended the Woodford School, Croydon and the Central School of Speech and Drama...
, Flora Robson
Flora Robson
Dame Flora McKenzie Robson DBE was an English actress, renowned as a character actress, who played roles ranging from queens to villainesses.-Early life:...
, Athene Seyler
Athene Seyler
Athene Seyler, CBE was an English actress.Although better known as a stage actress, she first appeared on the stage in 1909 and made her film debut in 1921, and became known for playing slightly dotty old ladies....
, Marius Goring
Marius Goring
Marius Goring CBE was an English stage and cinema actor. He is most often remembered for the four films he did with Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in A Matter of Life and Death and as Julian Craster in The Red Shoes...
and James Mason
James Mason
James Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...
.
From 1940, while the theatre was closed during the Second World War, the ballet company toured throughout the country, and on its return changed its name to the Sadler's Wells Ballet. Similarly, the opera company toured to return as Sadler's Wells Opera Company, and it reopened the theatre with Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
's Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes
Peter Grimes is an opera by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto adapted by Montagu Slater from the Peter Grimes section of George Crabbe's poem The Borough...
.
In 1946, with the re-opening of the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the ballet company was invited to become the resident company there. De Valois decided that a second company was needed to continue ballet performances at Sadler's Wells, and so the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet was formed, with John Field
John Field (dancer)
John Field was an English ballet dancer, choreographer, director and teacher. He was a renowned member of the Vic-Wells Ballet and Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet and was also Artistic Director of the La Scala Theatre Ballet.- Biography :Born John Greenfield in Doncaster, South Yorkshire in 1921,...
as artistic director. The Sadler's Wells company later relocated to Covent Garden, where it was incorporated into the Royal Ballet's charter in 1956, becoming The Royal Ballet Touring Company. After a number of years as a touring group, it returned to Sadler's Wells in 1976, becoming the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet.
In 1987, the Birmingham Hippodrome and Birmingham City Council invited Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet to re-locate to Birmingham. It did so in 1990 and changed its name to Birmingham Royal Ballet. Since the departure of the company, there has not been a resident ballet company at Sadler's Wells.
The opera company moved out of Sadler's Wells Theatre to the London Coliseum in 1968 and was later renamed English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
. Sadler's Wells Theatre then became a temporary home both for foreign companies and those within the UK looking for a metropolitan shop-window. In addition, Sadler's Wells, strategically near but not in the West End, was seen as the ideal launching-pad for artists at the outset of their careers.
Throughout the 1970s a rich diversity of attractions appeared at Sadler's Wells, recapturing something of its former eclecticism. Productions ranged from Handel Opera to the Black Theatre of Prague, to the Netherlands Dance Theatre with its controversial nudity. Also appearing during this period were Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
, Marcel Marceau
Marcel Marceau
Marcel Marceau was an internationally acclaimed French actor and mime most famous for his persona as Bip the Clown.-Early years:...
, the Kabuki Theatre, the Dance Theatre of Harlem
Dance Theatre of Harlem
Dance Theatre of Harlem is a ballet company and school of the allied arts founded in Harlem, New York City, USA in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook...
and the Kodo Drummers from Japan. A disadvantage of such a diverse programme was that it prevented the theatre from having a consistent public image.
Briefly in the 1980s, the theatre established the New Sadler's Wells Opera company to play Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
and other light opera. The company had some success for a few years and then severed its relationship with the theatre around 1986 and became a touring company. It finally went out of business in 1989.
The first performances of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake – which uniquely included an all-male cast of swans – took place in the main house in November 1995, before embarking on a UK tour then playing in the West End.
The Lilian Baylis Theatre opened in October 1988 and it appeared that a permanent theatre company might emerge, but this was limited by funding difficulties.
In 1994 Ian Albery became chief executive of Sadler's Wells and presided over the planning and eventual rebuilding of the theatre. On 30 June 1996, the last performance was given at the old theatre before the bulldozers moved in. On St. Valentine's Day the following February a more unusual ceremony took place when Albery buried a time capsule under the centre stalls of the new building.
Sixth theatre
The current theatre opened on 11 October 1998 with a performance by Rambert Dance Company of IolantheIolanthe
Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh collaboration of the fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan....
with sets designed by Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman
Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman was an English film director, stage designer, diarist, artist, gardener and author.-Life:...
and Laurence Bennett. The £54 million project was one of the first projects to receive funding from the National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
– which contributed £42 million. The new design gave a stage which was wider and deeper and able to accommodate much larger companies and productions than the one it replaced. A new layout to the auditorium accommodated more seats. An extension at the side of the building provided a new ticket office and foyers rising to the full height of the theatre, provided easier audience access to all levels and included bars, cafes and exhibition spaces. As well as the 1,500 seat main auditorium, Sadler's Wells also has a base at the Peacock Theatre
Peacock Theatre
The Peacock Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Portugal Street, near Aldwych. The 999-seat house is owned by, and comprises part of the London School of Economics and Political Science campus, who utilise the theatre for lectures, public talks, conferences,...
near the Aldwych
Aldwych
Aldwych is a place and road in the City of Westminster in London, England.-Description:Aldwych, the road, is a crescent, connected to the Strand at both ends. At its centre, it meets the Kingsway...
in central London. The rebuilt Sadler's Wells retains the Grade II listing applied to the former theatre in 1950. It also retains access to the remains of the historic wells that still lie beneath the theatre. The architect was RHWL, the acoustic consultant was Arup Acoustics.
In 2001, Sadler's Wells joined in collaboration with the Random Dance director Wayne McGregor and animations company Hotbox Studios, headed by Mark Hatchard
Mark Hatchard
Mark Hatchard is a director of the Hotbox Studios animation and design company and is involved with the contemporary arts and music festival group, Festival Republic, through Hotbox Studios' sister company Hotbox Events...
. The 10th anniversary piece Nemesis ran until 2001.
When Ian Albery retired as chief executive in October 2002 he was succeeded by Jean Luc Choplin, who had recently worked for Disneyland in Paris and Los Angeles and at one time worked with Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.In 1961 he...
as a managing director of the Paris Opera Ballet
Paris Opera Ballet
The Paris Opera Ballet is the oldest national ballet company in the world, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it...
. Although his contract ran until 2007, in January 2004 Choplin announced that he would be taking up a post at the Théâtre du Châtelet
Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.One of two theatres built on the site of a châtelet, a small castle or fortress, it was designed by Gabriel Davioud at the request of Baron Haussmann between 1860 and...
, Paris in 2006 and left shortly afterwards.
Under the artistic directorship of Alistair Spalding
Alistair Spalding
Alistair Spalding has been the Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Sadler's Wells Theatre since 2004....
since 2004, Sadler's Wells has expanded to become a production house as well as a receiving house
Receiving house
A receiving house is a theatre which does not produce its own repertoire but instead receives touring theatre companies, usually for a brief period such as three nights or a full week...
hosting performances by visiting companies from the UK and around the world. Balletboyz Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, Matthew Bourne's New Adventures
Matthew Bourne
Matthew Bourne OBE is a British classical and contemporary ballet and dance choreographer.-Biography:Matthew Bourne was born in Hackney, London in 1960. He went to William Fitt and Sir George Monoux School in Walthamstow, London...
, Sylvie Guillem
Sylvie Guillem
Sylvie Guillem CBE is a French ballet dancer. She was the top-ranking female dancer with the Paris Opera Ballet from 1984 to 1989, before becoming a principal guest artist with the Royal Ballet in London. She is currently performing contemporary dance as an Associate Artist of London's Sadler's...
, Akram Khan
Akram Khan (dancer)
Akram Khan, MBE is a dancer whose background is rooted in his classical kathak training and contemporary dance.-Career:Khan was born in London into a family of Bangladeshi origin. He began dancing and trained in the classical Indian dance form of Kathak at the age of seven. He studied with Sri...
, Jonzi D, Russell Maliphant, Wayne McGregor
Wayne McGregor
Wayne McGregor CBE is a British choreographer of contemporary modern dance. His work is highly distinctive in its vocabulary of movement, for its integration of dance with film and visual art, and for his active interest and incorporation of computer technology and biological science...
, Jasmin Vardimon and Christopher Wheeldon
Christopher Wheeldon
Christopher Wheeldon is an international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Born in Somerset, England, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dancer at the age of 8. He attended the Royal Ballet School between the ages of 11 and 18...
are all associate artists/companies at Sadler's Wells. This creates opportunities for them to work alongside each other and other collaborators in developing new work. Breakin' Convention
Breakin' Convention
Breakin’ Convention is an international hip-hop theatre festival based in London, England that was founded in 2004 and is produced annually by Sadler's Wells Theatre. It has been under the artistic direction of playwright and dancer Jonzi D since its inception. Since May 2008 Breakin’ Convention...
, the International Festival of hip hop dance theatre has been produced annually by Sadler's Wells since 2004.
zero degrees, a collaboration between dance artists Akram Khan and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, visual artist Antony Gormley
Antony Gormley
Antony Mark David Gormley OBE RA is a British sculptor. His best known works include the Angel of the North, a public sculpture in the North of England, commissioned in 1995 and erected in February 1998, Another Place on Crosby Beach near Liverpool, and Event Horizon, a multi-part site...
and composer Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney is an Indian-British musician, producer and composer. His critically acclaimed work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of jazz and electronica and often explores themes such as multiculturalism, politics and spirituality...
and PUSH, a programme of work made by Russell Maliphant for himself and Sylvie Guillem, are two of the award-winning productions to emerge from the new Sadler's Wells.
In March 2009, Sadler's Wells launched the Global Dance Contest - an online competition to find new dance talent from around the world. The competition will run for four years, with a winner receiving a cash prize and the chance to perform at Sadler's Wells Sampled, the taster weekend which each January showcases the huge range of dance to be seen throughout the year at the theatre. The first winner was Shu-Yi Chou, a 26 year old choreographer from Taiwan. His work '[1875] Ravel and Bolero' was performed at Sadler's Wells on 30 and 31 January 2010.
Archives
The Islington Local History CentreIslington Local History Centre
Islington Local History Centre is a local studies centre and archive which holds material documenting the history of the London Borough of Islington.-History:Islington Local History Centre, which is located in Finsbury Library, was opened in 2003...
holds the archive of Sadler's Wells Theatre, with material dating from 1712 onwards.
External links
- Sadlers Wells website
- Sadlers Wells History
- Sadler's Wells on the Theatres Trust website
- Douglas Craig – Daily Telegraph obituary