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Sadler's Wells |
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Sadler's
Wells |
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Sadler's Wells |
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First theatre
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".
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' 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".
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.
Fourth theatre
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.
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.
Fifth theatre
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 Smythe and Sir Thomas Beecham, it was not
long before enough money had been amassed to buy the
freehold.
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 to 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.
Sixth theatre
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. |
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Sadler's
Wells seating plan |
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enlarge seating plan |
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