Sadler's Wells (Londres)

Topologie du théâtre

Nombre de salles actives: 2
Salle 1: Theatre (1560) 1683 - Actif
Salle 2: Lilian Baylis Studio (200) 1683 - Actif

Accès

En métro: Angel
En bus: 19, 38 and 341
Adresse: Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R 4TN

Evolution

Bâtiment: 1683. Theatre opened in Edward Sadler’s grounds for entertainment / 1765. Theatre rebuilt by Thomas Rosoman / 1879. Theatre remodelled by C. J. Phipps / 1901. Building again remodelled by Bertie Crewe / 1931. Sadler's Wells rebuilt by F. G. M. Chancellor for Lilian Baylis / 1996. Chancellor's theatre mostly demolished and rebuilt by Renton Howard Wood Levine with Nicholas Hare Associates / Statutorily Listed Historic Building: Grade II
Nom:

Propriétaire(s)

Remarquable

The evolution of Sadler’s Wells from its origins in 1683, through its various metamorphoses, to the emergence of the present building, opened in 1998.

Edward Sadler, Surveyor of the Highways, lived a comfortable late 17th-century life in rural Clerkenwell, his two-storey detached house surrounded by a large, well-treed garden, hinting at the possibility of profitable interests beyond his day job. In an area known up to the 16th century for its healing wells, Sadler discovered to his delight that he had on his land a chalybeate spring once owned by the medieval Hospital of St John, Clerkenwell, the head house of the Knights Hospitallers in England. A born entrepreneur, Sadler set out immediately to market his Iron-infused water - with considerable, almost Instantaneous success, comparable with the modern bottled mineral water phenomenon. So impressive was his strategy that hypochondriacs, including members of the royal family, flocked to Clerkenwell; but so did Imitators. To fend off the competition, Sadler imported live entertainment - music, pageantry, fireworks and dancing - similar to that at fashionable Vauxhall Gardens, south of the River Thames, for the amusement of his clientèle. Sadler's so-called Musick House, later to become picturesquely known as New Tunbridge Wells, grew Into a typical seven-bay, two-storey country house with up-to- date sashed windows under a steeply pitched tile roof. Sadler’s ‘theatre’, where the entertainments were presented, survived in the grounds until the mid-18th century, by which time public interest had waned and the audience had become disreputable.
In 1765 Thomas Rosoman bought the property and rebuilt the wooden ’theatre’ in more substantial masonry In what were, by this time, less tranquil surroundings, and In its revitalized form the theatre became well known for Its burlesques and pantomimes. In 1804 the nearby New River was ingeniously channelled Into the building for the staging of contemporary victorious naval battles. In the later 1840s the Chartist movement, an expression of an upsurge in working-class egalitarian feeling, gathered strength in London; with revolution In France along with economic depression and rampant cholera outbreaks at home, the Marseillaise was heard to be played at Sadler’s Wells in anticipation of a civil war that failed to materialize.
Although Shakespeare returned to the Wells after the passing of the Theatres Act in 1843, which broke the grip of the patent theatres, the venue was not popular; in fact, the term ‘Sadler's Wells make-up' (consisting of limewash scrapings and dust) was an allusion to the theatre’s poverty of resources. In the early 1870s new uses were proposed for the building, and in 1876 the New Spa Roller Skating Rink opened. Even after the Interior had been remodelled by C. J. Phipps in 1879, the public stayed away. Music hall generated some response over the following decades, and in 1901 the building was again remodelled, this time by architect Bertie Crewe, only to become a cinema and then to close in 1906.
The theatre’s true salvation was not forthcoming until the Wells was taken over by Lilian Baylls in 1925 to run in tandem with her already flourishing Old Vic Theatre. She demolished the old building and in 1931 rebuilt on the site, commissioning architect F. G. M. Chancellor to carry out the work, which he did in a dour, unimaginative style. Under the distinguished direction of Ninette de Valois, opera and ballet gained momentum, and the 'North London Old Vic’ emerged from the theatrical shadows. Success followed success, albeit erratically. In 1988 the Baylls Theatre was designed by architects Chamberlain, Powell and Bon, and in 1994 Ian Albury became chief executive. Two years later, under his inspired leadership, Chancellor's building was demolished to make way for a new theatre designed by Renton Howard Wood Levine, with Nicholas Hare Associates, which would be moulded Into the skeletal fabric of the earlier building.
The Inevitable problems associated with designing a new theatre in this way on a restricted site have been overcome at the Wells in a bold but severe solution. The cold silver-grey panelling of the fly-tower is offset by the dramatic foyer glazing and warm brickwork, beautifully laid in Flemish bond to the body of the building. The light and airy foyer levels are designed for multipurpose use, with rooms of varying sizes adjacent on each floor, thus offering the possibility of additional sources of finance (which are only too necessary).
Although the basic form of the structure has been maintained, the grid has been raised from 16 metres to 22 metres and the proscenium has been widened from 9 to 15 metres. The seating lacks luxury, and the preserving of earlier levels within the auditorium has caused sightllnes to the rear of the stalls and first circle to be curtailed. Disabled access, though, has been carefully considered throughout the building.
So, here In Rosebery Avenue a dreary building has been swept away to be replaced by a theatre of the highest quality, where architectural aesthetics and technology have made a near-perfect marriage. Completing a very special ensemble Is the pioneering Spa Green Estate of 1946-50, designed by international modernist architects Lubetkin and Skinner, while next door to the theatre is the impressive Metropolitan Water Board Building (1914-20) designed by H. Austen Hall. Enhancing the group Is Thomas Rudge’s Angel of Victory memorial close by in Spa Gardens.
And yes, Richard Sadler's well has been preserved - in the corridor at the back of the stalls!

1683. Theatre opened in Edward Sadler’s grounds for entertainment / 1765. Theatre rebuilt by Thomas Rosoman / 1879. Theatre remodelled by C. J. Phipps / 1901. Building again remodelled by Bertie Crewe / 1931. Sadler's Wells rebuilt by
F. G. M. Chancellor for Lilian Baylis / 1996. Chancellor's theatre mostly demolished and rebuilt by Renton Howard Wood Levine with Nicholas Hare Associates / Statutorily Listed Historic Building: Grade II

The evolution of Sadler’s Wells from its origins in 1683, through its various metamorphoses, to the emergence of the present building, opened in 1998.

Musical
Original London

20) Carmen La Cubana (Original London)

Joué durant 2 semaines

Première preview: 01 August 2018
Première: 02 August 2018
Dernière: 19 August 2018

Salle: Theatre (1560 places)

Compositeur: Georges Bizet •
Parolier:
Libettiste: Christopher Renshaw • Norge Espinosa Mendoza • Stephen Clark •
Metteur en scène: Christopher Renshaw •
Chorégraphe: Roclan Gonzalez Chavez •
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Musical
Revival

19) West Side Story (Revival)

Joué durant 1 mois 2 semaines

Première preview: 07 August 2013
Première: 07 August 2013
Dernière: 22 September 2013

Salle: Theatre (1560 places)

Compositeur: Leonard Bernstein •
Parolier: Stephen Sondheim •
Libettiste: Arthur Laurents •
Metteur en scène: Joey McKneely •
Chorégraphe: Joey McKneely •
Avec:

Commentaire:

Presse: "Still as gloriously fresh, relevant and thrilling as ever"
TIME OUT

"If you buy one theatre ticket this summer, make it this one. A thrilling, hurtling triumph"
THE OBSERVER

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Musical
Revival

18) Fela! (Revival)

Joué durant 1 mois

Première preview: 20 July 2011
Première: 26 July 2011
Dernière: 28 August 2011

Salle: Theatre (1560 places)

Compositeur: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti •
Parolier: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti •
Libettiste: Bill T Jones •
Metteur en scène: Bill T Jones •
Chorégraphe: Bill T Jones •
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Spectacle
Original

17) Cinderella (Bourne) (Original)

Joué durant 1 mois 3 semaines

Première preview: 30 November 2010
Première: 30 November 2010
Dernière: 23 January 2011

Salle: Theatre (1560 places)

Compositeur: * Divers •
Parolier: * Divers •
Libettiste: * Divers •
Metteur en scène: Matthew Bourne •
Chorégraphe: Matthew Bourne •
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Musical
Revival

16) West Side Story (Revival)

Joué durant 1 mois 1 semaine

Première preview: 22 July 2008
Première: 24 July 2008
Dernière: 31 August 2008

Salle: Theatre (1560 places)

Compositeur: Leonard Bernstein •
Parolier: Stephen Sondheim •
Libettiste: Arthur Laurents •
Metteur en scène: Joey McKneely •
Chorégraphe: Joey McKneely •
Avec: Ryan Silverman/Scott Sussman ( Tony), Elisa Cordova/Sofia Escobar (Maria ), Leo Ash Evans (Riff), V ictor James Wisehart (Diesel), Alana Gordon/Oneika Phillips (Anita) , Marco Santiago (Bernardo), Steven Greenstein, Julian Alvarez, Sara Dobbs

Commentaire: This production played a short season in London, following dates in Tokyo, Paris and Beijing. With a cast of 40 and large orchestra, this was an international celebration of the show’s 50 th anniversary. The critics were delighted to report it was as powerful, dramatic and exciting as ever, though several felt the “dream ballet” sequence for the “Somewhere” number was the only give-away of the show’s age – the only part of the show that felt dated and seriously out of place. (plus)

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Musical
Revival

15) Singin' in the Rain (Revival)

Joué durant 1 mois

Première preview: 29 July 2004
Première: 03 August 2004
Dernière: 04 September 2004

Salle: Theatre (1560 places)

Compositeur: Nacio Herb Brown •
Parolier: Arthur Freed •
Libettiste: Adolph Green • Betty Comden •
Metteur en scène: Paul Kerryson •
Chorégraphe: Adam Cooper •
Avec: Cast: Adam Cooper (Don Lockwood), Simon Coulthard (Cosmo Brown), Josefina Gabrielle (Kathy Seiden), Ronni Ancona (Lina Lamont), Claude Close (Roscoe Dexter)

Commentaire: This was planned for a five week run before transferring to the Leicester Haymarket Theatre. It received very mixed notices, especially for Adam Cooper (who had earlier been the great success of the Matthew Bourne version of “Swan Lake”. However, there was universal praise for Ronni Ancona, who stole the show as Lina Lamont. (plus)

Presse: SARAH FRATER for THE EVENING STANDARD says, "Stage version stays in tune with film classic." LYN GARDNER for THE GUARDIAN says, "More a drizzle than a real downpour of entertainment, Paul Kerryson's stage version of the MGM classic is big, handsome and rather dull."
ZOE ANDERSON for THE INDEPENDENT says, "It's a stiff and plodding...."
DEBRA CRAINE for THE TIMES says, "Kerryson’s laboured direction misses both humour and romance, subduing the show’s virtues."

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Musical
Revival

14) Sweeney Todd (Revival)

Joué durant 1 semaine

Première preview: 07 June 2002
Première: 07 June 2002
Dernière: 15 June 2002

Salle: Theatre (1560 places)

Compositeur: Stephen Sondheim •
Parolier: Stephen Sondheim •
Libettiste: Hugh Wheeler •
Metteur en scène: David McVicar •
Chorégraphe: Jonathan Butterell •
Avec: Steven Page (Sweeney Todd), Beverley Klein (Mrs Lovett), Daniel Broad (Anthony), Malcolm Rivers (Judge Turpin), Anna-Clare Monk (Joanna), Christopher Saunders (Tobias), Stuart Kale (Pirelli), Gillian Kirkpatrick (Beggar Woman), Stephen Briggs (Beadle)

Commentaire: This production was originally created in 1998 by Opera North and now revived for a short tour. The original Leeds production had been much praised, but this revival was loaded with superlatives, with several critics claiming this was its best staging to date. (plus)

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Musical
Revival

13) Calamity Jane (Revival)

Joué durant 3 semaines

Première preview: 23 May 1996
Première: 23 May 1996
Dernière: 15 June 1996

Salle: Theatre (1560 places)

Compositeur: Sammy Fain •
Parolier: Paul Francis Webster •
Libettiste: Charles K. Freeman •
Metteur en scène: Paul Kerryson •
Chorégraphe:
Avec: Gemma Craven (Calamity Jane), Stephen McGann (Wild Bill Hickok), Stuart Pendred (Lieutenant Danny Martin), Nicole Carty (Adelaide Adams), Grace Kinirons (Katie Brown), James Gavin (Francis Fryer)

Commentaire: This season at Sadler’s Wells was part of national tour. Gemma Craven received a lot of praise, but it was felt the scenery and staging was not up to London standards. (plus)

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Musical
Revival