Sadler's Wells Theatre Archive

An archive for today's Sadler’s Wells

In previous blogs we have focused primarily on the large collection of material that we hold concerning the beginnings of Sadler's Wells Theatre, and the first half of the 20th century, when the theatre was refurbished and reopened by Lilian Baylis in 1931. But for anyone interested in contemporary dance and choreography, the Sadler’s Wells Theatre Archive is a treasure trove.

We hold programmes and publicity material relating to some of the today’s most noted dance companies, choreographers, designers, musicians and, of course, dancers. Matthew Bourne, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Balletboyz, Sylvie Guillem, Akram Khan, Wayne McGregor, Nitin Sawhney and Hofesh Shechter are just some of the associated artists that perform regularly at the theatre today.

The cover and inside of the programme for the world premiere of Matthew Bourne's production of 'Swan Lake' at Sadler's Wells on 9 November 1995

We also hold material related to other noted performers and companies that have performed at Sadler’s Wells in the last thirty years. These include Carlos Acosta, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Michael Clarke, Paco Pena, Rambert Dance Company, Nederlands Dans Theatre 1 & 2, La La La Human Steps, Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Batsheva Dance Company and Birmingham Royal Ballet.

The cover and inside of the programme for Tanzheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch's performance at Sadler's Wells in September 1982.

 
One of the biggest pleasures of working with such a diverse and comprehensive archive is that you get a feel of  how Sadler’s Wells Theatre has developed over its 330 years, as well a glimpse into the wider picture of how the world of theatre, dance and opera developed in general over that time.

The Wanderer: Graham Sutherland and Sadler's Wells

In our previous blog, Mark promised to reveal details of an exciting discovery found in the Sadler's Wells Theatre Archive during listing and cataloguing of costume and set designs. I am now very pleased to share this news with our readers.

I have been tidying up the loose ends of the collection, looking at material that has either been put in the ‘too hard basket’ – items that don't slot easily into any obvious category - or files that were yet to be catalogued. Recently I turned my attention to set and costume designs awaiting listing and cataloguing, unaware of the surprise to come.

There are around five different series of set and costume designs in the archive and, while sorting through various items in this category, I was excited to discover that one set of costume designs was created by well-known British artist Graham Sutherland (1903-1980).

Sutherland was commissioned to design two backdrops and the costumes for Frederick Ashton's ballet The Wanderer, set to Schubert's piano sonata Fantasie in C major, Op. 15 ( D. 760) known as The Wanderer Fantasy. The Sadler's Wells Ballet production premiered on 27 January 1941 at the New Theatre in St Martin's Lane. The principle dancers included  Robert Helpmann playing 'The Traveller’ and Margot Fonteyn playing the lead female role, with Pamela May and Michael Somes playing 'The Lovers'.

We hold 12 of the costume designs by Sutherland for the ballet. These are outlined in pencil or pen and painted with watercolour, and notated with remarks about the characters' costumes. Some come complete with fabric swatches attached and labelled from B. Burnet & Co, Covent Garden. The fabrics are particularly vibrant in colour – pinks, reds and oranges for the lead roles and dark-greens, greys, browns and black for the supporting dancers (as shown below).

Unfortunately the archive doesn't possess any of the backdrop designs, or any colour reproductions. However, there is a painting held at the V&A upon which one of the backdrops is based,  The Wanderer I (1940). The painting has oranges, yellows and browns dominating the work, so perhaps we can imagine how the back drops may have originally appeared. 

The above photograph is from the Sadler's Wells Ballet production of The Wanderer and shows Sutherland’s distinctive backdrop behind the performers. Helpmann is being held aloft and Fonteyn is in the foreground to the right. Both are wearing the costumes shown in the above designs to the righ of the photograph.

The costumes were apparently not to everyone's taste but the backdrops were generally thought a great success. This was, as far as we are able to ascertain, Graham Sutherland's only sojourn into the world of theatre design and we are delighted to hold these items in our collection (S/SWT/2/10/6/1).

Julie Melrose
Islington Local History Centre 

 

 

"If you catalogue it, they will come!"

Please forgive this blog title's reference to the 1989 Hollywood film Field of Dreams but it seemed very apt regarding the current status of the collection.

It's been over a month since we launched our Sadler's Wells Theatre Archive catalogue on the Archives Hub and I'm delighted to report that we have seen a huge increase in interest and use of the collection. So a big thanks to the National Cataloguing Grant and the Hub for affording the opportunity to allow even greater access to this valuable resource. A little therefore about some of our recent enquiries since launching the online catalogue.

Enquiries have been as wide ranging and as varied as the material held in the collection. For example, a PhD student from Germany, who is currently researching the life and work of composer Dame Ethel Smyth, found material relating to two of Smyth's operas performed at Sadler's Wells during the 1930s . Another researcher investigating the life of an ancestor,  Edward Noble Hallows (1849-1887), discovered that during the 1880s he was both actor and manager at the theatre. During the course of the research an amusing press cutting described Mr Hallows's performance in Baffled (1883) as "deserving of special mention", however, the reporter also highlighted the difficulties of entering the theatre (cutting reproduced below).  Other requests for information found via the catalogue include 1930s plans for the building (architectural student), images of the theatre in the 1950s (Scottish TV documentary) and performance programmes for the 1960s (enquirer's mother danced at the Wells). We have also had many requests for information from staff at Sadler's Wells Theatre itself.

Below: Dame Ethel Smyth (1858-1944),
English composer and a leader of the women's suffrage movement

 Below: Press article describing a performance of Baffled in 1883.

The launch of the catalogue and accompanying publicity has also brought forward donations from the public. These include a rare 1947 programme featuring a performance by Sadler's Wells Ballet in Vienna, an autobiography of dancer Constance Tomkinson titled Dancing Attendance and other unique material not already held in the collection. So thank you to all for your kind donations and the Centre is always happy to discuss additions to the collection.

Meanwhile, these acquisitions will be added to the catalogue and work on the collection still continues, especially cataloguing material to item level where practical.

London's Dance House in the 21st century

Following the excitement of the recent launch of the online Sadler's Wells Theatre Archive catalogue and accompanying display,  today's timely blog brings our ongoing history and development of Sadler's Wells Theatre up-to-date.

Our previous installment, posted earlier this month, describing A new theatre for a new millennium, focused on the building and opening of a new Sadler's Wells in 1998. The theatre's success continued into the 21st century, witnessing changes in management and the introduction of commissioned and co-productions.

Ian Albery retired as Chief Executive Officer in October 2002 and was succeeded by Jean Luc Choplin, who once worked with the great Rudolf Nureyev when Managing Director of the Paris Opera ballet. A few years later, Choplin left to take up a post at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.  In 2004  Alistair Spalding became Chief Executive Officer and Artistic Director of Sadler’s Wells and remains in post in 2012.  He has been responsible for programming at the theatre since February 2000 (when he joined as Director of Programming).  

Upon Alistair Spalding's appointment as CEO, the theatre expanded to become a production house, as well as a receiving house. Internationally renowned artists such as Sylvie Guillem and Akram Kahn were introduced as associate artists at the Wells, allowing joint collaboration on new works.

In the last five or so years, Sadler’s Wells has commissioned and co-produced over 75 productions, including the new ballet The Most Incredible Thing which saw the theatre work with pop stars The Pet Shop Boys and radical choreographer Javier De Frutos.

Matthew Bourne, arguably the country's most famous contemporary dance choreographer, is a resident artist at Sadler’s Wells; his company New Adventures were invited to be a resident company at the theatre in 2006. Many of  Bourne’s most famous works have enjoyed their premieres at the theatre, including his 1995 all male production of Swan Lake, his  revised production of Nutcracker (2002),  Edward Scissorhands (2005) and Cinderella (Christmas 2010/11) - see image below. 

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 runs for four years, with winners each receiving a cash prize and an invitation to perform at Sadler's Wells Sampled, an annual showcase of the best in dance from around the world. 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. UK based James Wilton won the competition in 2012 with The Shortest Day. 

October 2012's productions include Akram Kahn's Desh and Irish choreographer Marguerite Donlon's Rambert Dance Company debut with Labyrinth of Love. And, the ever-popluar Matthew Bourne's New Adventures Company take up residency at Christmas 2012/13 with its production of the classic ballet Sleeping Beauty. 

Below: Rambert Dance Company's Labyrinth of Love (2012)

From its humble beginnings in the 17th century, Sadler's Wells continues to entertain and educate, innovate and inspire new generations of audiences and performers alike. The future is truly 'all singing and dancing' for Islington-based Sadler's Wells Theatre - London's Dance House. 

 

'Display de ballet' (and more): the Sadler's Wells Theatre Archive on show

From now until 20 October 2012, and hot on the heels of the online launch of the Sadler's Wells Theatre Archive collection on the Archives Hub (see previous blog),  the story of the 'Wells' through the use of archive material can be viewed at Islington Local History Centre.

Dedicated interpretation panels explain the fascinating history of this world famous place of entertainment and specially selected items from the collection highlight the wide variety of material held in the archive. The earliest document on display is a pamphlet dated 1712 and the most recent is a programme for Sadler's Wells summer production of Matthew Bourne's Play Without Words, which was delivered, as part of a larger deposit, by theatre staff only two days ago!

Staff at the Centre are always pleased to answer enquiries about the collection and, for those unable to visit in person, the display is also available online (see link below). And, of course, further details of the material held in the collection can be accessed via the online catalogue (also see link below).

• View the Sadler's Wells Theatre Archive collection display
• View the Sadler's Wells Theatre Archive online catalogue

A new theatre for a new millennium

As the new millennium approached, change and modernisation for Sadler's Wells was in the air, heralding a new chapter in the history of this remarkable institution. 

In 1994 Ian Albery became chief executive of Sadler’s Wells and he oversaw the rebuilding of the theatre. Costing an overall £54 million, the project was one of the first projects to receive funding from the National Lottery Fund, which contributed £42 million. 

Above: Ian Albery in 1996 - driving force behind the rebuilding of Sadler's Wells.

The last performance at the 1930's theatre was given in June 1996 before rebuilding commenced. Finale, a farewell gala commemorating the previous 65-years, was held on Sunday 23 June. Amongst the guests were a 98-year-old Dame Ninette De Valois (founder of the Royal Ballet) and the slighlty younger (at 94 years) Godfrey Kenton, who as Orsino in Twelfth Night, spoke the first words on Lilian Baylis's new stage in 1931.

Above: Covers of the closing (left) and the opening programmes (right) of the old and new Sadler's Wells Theatre. 1996 and 1998, respectively.

The stage was made deeper and wider in order to be able to accommodate larger companies and productions. The auditorium was redesigned increasing capacity to 1500 and an extension at the side of the building provided a new ticket office and foyers rising to the full height of the theatre. The rebuilt Sadler's Wells retains the Grade-II listing awarded the former theatre in 1950. Interestingly, the remains of the historic wells still lie beneath the theatre and can be viewed via 'spy hole' found in the floor inside building; water is also extracted from the well-spring for use by the theatre. 

During the rebuilding Sadler’s Wells staged productions at LSE’s Peacock Theatre, which by day was used for lectures and at night used for performances. Once the rebuild was complete Sadler’s Wells kept an option on the Peacock (formerly the Royalty) Theatre, transferring successful productions there due to its near-West End location in Holborn.

The new (and sixth) theatre opened on Monday 12  October 1998 with a performances by the Rambert Dance Company, Britain's oldest dance company, with sets designed by Derek Jarman and Laurence Bennett. The run up to the opening was somewhat hectic with building work continuing just until curtain-up! The theatre was hailed a great success and, as London's fist purpose-built dance house, boasted a stage twice the size of that the Royal Opera House. 

Below: Sadler's Wells Theatre, Rosebery Avenue, 2010.

 

The World and Sir Cliff come to the Wells - visiting company performances

In last week's blog - A Grimey Affair - mention was  made about how, following the departure of its two resident companies during the 1960s, Sadler’s Wells became a venue for international and UK based companies wanting to launch their careers. In fact, the archive's largest series relates to these visiting performers and is, therefore, worthy of a dedicated blog post.

Over the past 18-months it's been quite a herculean task to separate, sort and catalogue these visiting companies production files. This particular job is almost completed and so far over 300 files featuring productions performed at Sadler's Wells,  and covering four decades (late-1950s to the 1980s), have been catalogued and indexed. 

Many companies and their productions have become part of theatre history at Sadler's Wells, whereas others were local or amateur affairs but not without merit. Productions files include shows by Marcel Marceau, the Finnish National Opera, the Iraqi National Dance Company, Moscow Arts Theatre and the National Dance Theatre of Jamaica, as well as performances by Lindsay Kemp and the London Contemporary Dance Theatre. The files are of potential interest to those studying or possessing an interest in theatre management and its history.

A wide range of material reveals a complex 'behind-the-scenes' process from initial contact between theatre and company to post-performance analysis. Information includes correspondence, seating numbers, press releases and cuttings, publicity, and performer and company agreements. These all combine to produce a fascinating insight into what the audience doesn't see with regard to administrative preparation for a performance. Also held are files relating to productions that ended up as 'nearlies' - those that didn't quite reach the stage.

My personal favourites amongst the visiting production files are the national folk music and dance companies from the Far-East performing at the Wells during this period, in many cases bringing their country's culture to these shores for the very first time and often amidst a backdrop of political tension at home. 

Below is just a few examples of items from the production files:

1. Letter of thanks from the Mayor of Islington to Sadler's Wells following a premiere (1969)
2. Flyer for Kalakshetra [Indian Dance Theatre]. The production was cancelled at the last moment (1971)
3. Press cutting anticipating the performance of  Kalakshetra [Indian Dance Theatre] (1971)
4. Announcement that following cancellation of Kalakshetra, Cliff Richard is to make his stage debut at Sadler's Wells in Graham Greene's The Potting Shed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Grimey Affair: the fall and rise (and fall) of opera at Sadler's Wells

Our previous blog - Pas de deux - looked at the mixed fortunes of ballet at Sadler's Wells following the end of the Second World War in 1945. Not to be out done by its dance partner, opera at the theatre was to experience drama equal to any production narrative.

In 1945, rifts within the Sadler’s Wells Opera company began to appear, with many company members feeling that there had been favouritism shown during the casting of Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes; the opera received its premiere at the Wells  on 7 June 1945, and was a critical and popular success. However, the division amongst personnel proved to be irreparable and Britten and singer Peter Pears left Sadler’s Wells in December that year to form the English Opera Group.

Below: A scene from Peter Grimes at Sadler's Wells, 1945.

Sadler's Wells Opera struggled at first to rebuild and was not helped by the fact that Sadler’s Wells received public funding of just £40, 000 a year, meaning that productions needed to be staged on a budget;  Covent Garden Opera was receiving a healthy £145, 000 pa. However,  the fortunes of opera at the Wells improved and the  early 1950s saw renowned theatrical directors, such as George Devine, work on successful productions. Performance standards and company morale improved and, during the 1950-1 opera season, The Guardian declared, “Excitement at Sadler’s Wells: Lack of Distinction at Covent Garden." The paper judged Sadler’s Wells to have moved “into the front rank of opera houses."  Praise indeed!

The mid 1950s saw calls for the Sadler’s Wells Opera Company and Covent Garden to merge, which were resisted. In 1960 the touring Carl Rosa Opera Company was disbanded and Sadler’s Wells Opera recruited some of its members, creating a second company and taking over some of its touring dates. There were now two Sadler’s Wells Opera companies of equal standing who interchangeably performed at Sadler’s Wells or toured.

An Arts Council report from the late 1960s reveals the two Sadler’s Wells opera companies consisted of 278 paid artists and 62 guest performers, it had outgrown Sadler’s Wells and when the lease of the London Coliseum came up for renewal the Sadler’s Wells Opera Company transferred there; it was later renamed English National Opera. The last performance at Sadler’s Wells by the opera company was on 15 June 1968 with a revival Peter Grimes.

 On the departure of its two resident companies, Sadler’s Wells became a venue for international and UK based companies wanting to launch their careers. The theatre attracted a diverse range of performers during the 1970s including Netherlands Dance Theatre, who controversially performed nude, the mime artist Marcel Marceau (see below), and the Black Theatre of Prague.

In 1988 the Lilian Baylis studio at Sadler's Wells was opened. It was hoped it would be home to a permanent theatre company but this was not possible for funding reasons. 

 

Opera briefly returned during the 1980s, when the theatre established the New Sadler's Wells Opera company to perform light opera. The company severed its ties with the theatre to become a touring company around 1986. 

The story of Sadler's Wells continues in a future blog.

Pas de deux: post-Second World War ballet comings and goings

As promised in the previous blog, our ongoing brief history of Sadler's Wells continues with a look at life at the theatre following the Second World War.

In 1946, with the re-opening of the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the ballet company was invited to become the ROH's resident company. Ninette De Valois decided that a second company was needed to continue ballet performances at Sadler's Wells. This led to the creation of the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet.  The company could perform smaller ballets, which may have looked lost on the big stage of Covent Garden,  while enabling younger dancers and choreographers, such as Kenneth MacMillan, to get experience before transferring to Covent Garden. 

However, a review of the last performance at Sadler’s Wells by the Sadler’s Wells Ballet before their move to Covent Garden, from an anonymous news cutting found in the archive,  somewhat attacks Sadler's Wells Ballet's patrons:

“Sadler’s Wells audiences are not sincere. By their inattention during the performance and their hysterical applause at the end they stand self-condemned. They constitute an interesting social phenomenon, perhaps, but they are a very real menace to the progress of ballet. A critic must judge any ballet in its historical setting, compare it with the great works of the past, and compare it with other works of the same company; and not be led away by the sudden popularity of this, or that dancer.”

Below: an example of many news cuttings containg performance reviews in the archive.

Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet 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 years as a touring group, it returned to Sadler's Wells in 1976, establishing itself as the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet.  The late 1980s saw Darcey Bussell dance in the corps of the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet before transferring to the Royal Ballet.  During this decade, 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, yet again, to Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB). Since the departure of the company there has not been a resident ballet company at Sadler's Wells but BRB regularly return to Sadler’s Wells and performed at the theatre in 2011 and will again in October 2012.

Full marks to all for keeping up with the ever changing names of Sadler's Wells' ballet companies. Meanwhile, look out for our next blog - 'A Grimey Affair'  - which concentrates on the fall and rise (and fall) of opera at the Wells!

Sadler's Wells Theatre and the Second World War

Now I’m going to look at Sadler’s Wells during the Second World War.

At the start of the war in September 1939 Sadler’s Wells remained open. Sadler's Wells Ballet (now The Royal Ballet) however temporarily evacuated to Cardiff and the theatre’s basements began to be used as a public air raid shelter. Opera (the Sadler's Wells Opera company, now English National Opera) continued to be performed and in December '39 the ballet company returned initially for a trial month.

In May 1940 the British Council arranged for the ballet company to tour the Netherlands and Belgium. ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association, which provided entertainments for the armed forces) then arranged for the company to entertain the troops in France. But, within the first few days of the tour, the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands began. At the time the ballet company was close to the German border and so it was  forced to evacuate very rapidly. The company had to leave behind all its baggage including scenery, costumes and music scores (for which compensation of £4000 was received, equivalent to about £115,000 today). 

Newspaper articles of the time report how company members witnessed German parachutists landing and how they escaped the air raids and machine gunning (see below). Fortunately no one from the company was reported to be hurt - though they were presumably shaken by their experiences.

On 7  September 1940, with the beginning of the London Blitz, Sadler’s Wells held its last performance until after the war. The theatre was then requisitioned by Finsbury Borough Council on 11 September as a temporary home for local residents, whose residences had been bombed.

As a result, the administration of Sadler’s Wells and the Old Vic became temporarily relocated to the Victoria Theatre in Burnley. Sadler's Wells later returned to London but to the New Theatre (now the Noel Coward Theatre) rather than its own theatre in Rosebery Avenue. The ballet and opera companies spent much of the rest of the war on tours all around Britain, in addition to performances at their temporary homes in Burnley and at the New Theatre.

The tours were popular and this helped both companies become better known across the country.

On 7 June 1945, five weeks after the German surrender, Sadler’s Wells was reopened. Its first performance was Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten – the first ever performance of this well known opera.

Some of the archives we have of Sadler’s Wells during the war include:

• Correspondence between Rudolf Bing (temporary ballet company manager) and Tyrone Guthrie (Director of Sadler’s Wells and the Old Vic) about the Sadler’s Wells Ballet while the company was temporarily based at Dartington Hall in Devon
• Correspondence relating to the ballet and opera companies during the war
• Records relating to the wartime usage of Sadler’s Wells as a shelter, fire watching precautions at the theatre and rationing
• Programmes for wartime performances
• A large collection of press cuttings
• 1943-44 annual report