Sadler's Wells Theatre
For the racehorse, see Sadler's Wells (horse). |
The present Sadler's Wells Theatre. |
Sadler's Wells Theatre is located on Rosebery Avenue,
Clerkenwell,
London. The present theatre is the sixth on the site and seats 1,500. It also contains the 200-seat
Lilian Baylis Theatre.
It is best known for its
ballet, but
contemporary dance and
opera are also part of the repertoire. Also, the venue can be described as a
receiving house for visiting companies with their own productions.
Richard Sadler opended a "Musick House" in
1683 and the name Sadler's Wells originates from his name and the discovery of the existence of wells 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".Thus, this still quite rural London 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-1700s, the existence of two "Theatres Royal" - in
Covent Garden and
Drury Lane â€" severely limited the ability of other London theatres to legally perform any drama combined with music, thus rather limiting for opera. Sadler's Wells continued its downward spiral.
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' pedigree for opera production and oversaw the construction of a new theatre - at a cost of £4,225 - which opened in April 1765.
The latter half of the 18th century was see a wide variety of performances. There were patriotic plays and pageants such as "A Fig For The French", which was produced in order to restore 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 that: "...Finer scenes of greater effect have not been produced at any Theatre for many years".
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A performance at Sadler's Wells, circa 1808. |
During the early years of the 1800s, many famous actors appeared at the theatre - including
Edmund Kean â€" as well as popular comedians such as
Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837), 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 characterized 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.
Just as Sadler's Wells seemed at its lowest ebb, an unexpected champion arrived in the shape of distinguished actor-manager
Samuel Phelps (1804-1878). His advent coincided with the passing of the Theatres Act of 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, notably of
Macbeth (1844),
Antony and Cleopatra (1849) and
Pericles (1854), were much admired by the time he left Sadler's Wells in 1862.
The latter part of the 19th century saw the pendulum swing back again with the resulting decline of the Theatre until, by 1875, plans to turn the theatre in a bath house and skating rink 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.
After re-opening as a theatre in 1879, it became a
music hall and featured the legendary performers
Marie Lloyd and
Harry Champion among its stars.
Roy Redgrave, founder of the theatrical dynasty also graced the boards.
Taking on another purpose, the theatre was converted into a cinema. In December 1896, 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".
But still the overall trend was down until
Lilian Baylis, who ran the
Old Vic Theatre Company, agreed to help set up a charitable foundation to buy the run-down Sadler's Wells, which after a succession of managements in the 1900s, had became increasingly run-down and had been closed in 1915.
By 1925, Baylis clearly felt that her Old Vic was enjoying a healthy adolescence. In that year, as a result of her ceaseless labors, she invited the
Duke of Devonshire to make a public appeal for funds in order to set up a charitable Foundation designed to buy Sadler's Wells for the nation. Since the committee included such diverse and influential figures as
Winston Churchill and
Stanley Baldwin,
G. K. Chesterton and
John Galsworthy,
Dame Ethel Smyth and Sir
Thomas Beecham, it was not long before enough money had been amassed to buy the freehold.
Designed by FGM Chancellor of Matcham & Co, the new theatre opened on January 6th, 1931 with an appropriate production of ‘'
Twelfth Night'' and a cast headed by
Ralph Richardson as Sir Toby Belch and
John Gielgud as Malvolio.
In the beginning of Ms. Baylis' influence over Sadler's Wells, it was intended that the two theatres should each offer alternating programs of drama and opera. This happened for a short while, but it soon became clear that it was not only impractical, but it also made dubious commercial sense since drama flourished at the Old Vic but lagged behind opera and dance in popularity at the Wells.
By 1933/34 season the acting company under
Tyrone Guthrie included a formidable range of acting talent in the person of
Charles Laughton,
Peggy Ashcroft,
Flora Robson,
Athene Seyler,
Marius Goring and
James Mason.
By the 1935/36 season opera and ballet were firmly in the ascendant and Sadler's Wells Ballet with principal dancers
Alicia Markova and
Anton Dolin became the first truly British ballet company.
Ballet at Sadler's Wells: In 1931
Ninette de Valois was invited to form a ballet company at Sadler's Wells Theatre. It became known as the "Vic-Wells" Ballet since it performed both at Sadler's Wells Theatre and the Old Vic Theatre in London. By 1940, with the company tours throughout the country, the name of the company was changed to the Sadler's Wells Ballet.
In 1946, with the re-opening of the
Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the Company was invited to become the resident company there. De Valois therefore decided to found a second company called Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet at Sadler's Wells Theatre. After a short break in the mid-fifties where the Theatre Ballet relocated to Covent Garden, a Royal Charter granted the title of
The Royal Ballet on the Sadler's Wells Ballet, while the
Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet became the "Touring Company of The Royal Ballet" and it returned to base itself at Sadler's Wells Theatre, while continuing to tour the country.By 1977 another name changes created "The Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet" and, ten years later, 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 changes its name to Birmingham Royal Ballet but became independent of the Royal Opera House by 1996.
With the departure of the Opera company to the
Coliseum Theatre in 1968, it was increasingly felt that Sadler's Wells was able to play a pivotal role as a temporary home both for foreign companies and those within the UK looking for a metropolitan shop-window. In addition, Sadler's Wells, strategically positioned at some remove from the West End hot-house, 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, recaptured something of its traditional eclecticism. On Rosebery Avenue one could see everything 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. However, such a diverse programme did prevent the Theatre from having a consistent public image.
The Baylis Theatre opened in October 1988 and it appeared that a permanent theatre company might emerge, but this was limited by funding difficulties. On 30th June, 1996, the last ever 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 Ian Albery buried a time capsule under the centre stalls of the new building.
The current theatre opened on
11 October,
1998 after being rebuilt with money from the
National Lottery. As well as the 1,500 seat main auditorium, Sadler's Wells also has a base at the
Peacock Theatre near
Aldwych.
*Arundell, Dennis Drew,
The Story of Sadler's Wells, 1683-1977, David and Charles, Newton Abbott, 1978. ISBN 0715376209
* Dent, Edward J.,
A Theatre for Everybody: the story of The Old Vic and Sadler's Wells, London: 1945.
*
London Famous #19-Lilian Baylis*
Sadlers Wells web site*
Sadlers Wells History*
Sadler's Wells on the Theatres Trust site
