The Vic Wells Association Newletter March 2006:
The OLD VIC, Waterloo Road, SE1 8NB
SADLER'S WELLS, Rosebery Avenue, EC1R 4TN
(also at the PEACOCK THEATRE,
Portugal Street, Kingsway, London WC2A 2HT)
Founded 1923
By LILIAN BAYLIS, C.H., M.A.(Oxon) Hon.., LL.D.(Birm.)Hon,.
Incorporating
The Old Vic Association, The Old Vic Circle, The Old Vic Club,
Sadler's Wells Society, Sadler's Wells Circle
President....................Dr. Wendy Toye, CBE, Hon.D.Litt.
Vice President.............................. Mr Nickolas Grace
Chairman.......................................Mr James Ranger
No. 452 March 2006
MESSAGE FROM EDITOR.
Our Committee member Ruth Jeayes, has kindly arranged an outing to the Foundling Museum on Wednesday, 29th March, which gives very little time for you to respond. However, the Broadsheet should reach you in time to contact Ruth if you wish to come on this very interesting tour, and I would recommend you to telephone Ruth at once, and if she is not available, leave a message on her answerphone.
THE FOUNDLING MUSEUM
40 Brunswick Square, WC1.
Wednesday, March 29th at 2.30 pm (meet at 2.20 pm).
A guided tour has been arranged, limited to 25 people with a minimum of 15, for
members and friends.
If you would like to come, please apply, with a cheque for £6.50 made out to the Vic-Wells Association, together with a stamped, addressed envelope to Ruth Jeayes, 185 Honor Oak Road, London, SE23 3RP. Telephone; 020 8699 2376. The tour takes an hour, and then you are free to view the collection independently. There is a café there.
In the 18th century, up to 1,000 babies were abandoned in London each year by
mothers who were destitute and unable to care for them. When Thomas Coram
retired from life as a shipbuilder and sailor, he determined to find a means
whereby he might "maintain and educate exposed and deserted young persons". In
1739 he was awarded a Royal Charter to found his Foundling Hospital.
William Hogarth donated his portrait of Coram and persuaded others to do the
same to attract wealthy benefactors, so soon there was the first publicity
accessible art gallery, displaying works by Gainsborough, Ramsay and Reynolds
and Hogarth. Handel also raised substantial monies from benefit performances,
especially of the Messiah, a fair copy of which he gave to the foundation, which
now holds the largest collecton of Handel memorabilia.
The Hospital was pulled down in 1926, but the contents, including rooms, were relocated to Brunswick Square, and London's newest museum was opened in June, 2004
RUTH JEAYES.
SHAKESPEARE'S BIRTHDAY PARTY SATURDAY,
22nd APRIL, 2006.
This will be held in the upper circle bar at the Old Vic from 5.00pm to 7.00pm on Saturday 22nd April. This party will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Old Vic’s celebrated productions of all Shakespeare’s plays. Mary Clark, Editor of the Dancing times will propose the toast to Shakespeare. She edited a series of beautifully illustrated books covering the five years of productions in the 50’s. It is hoped some of the actors who appeared in these productions will attend and the cast of Resurrection Blues currently playing at the Old Vic will be invited. Tickets at £6 for Members and £7.50 for guests may be obtained from Mary-Jane Burcher at Flat 6, Oak House, 6 Carlton Drive, Putney, London SW15 2BZ. It is essential you enclose a stamped addressed envelope for your tickets to be sent to you. Please come to the foyer at the front of the Old Vic for admission to the party.
JAMES RANGER
A TOUR OF HISTORICAL CHARTERHOUSE.
THURSDAY, 11th MAY, 2006.
We have arranged a tour of Charterhouse for Thursday, May llth, 2006 commencing at 2.15 pm. The tour will last about two hours. It will start with a video on the history of Charterhouse, tracing its development from 1349, when Sir Walter Manney bought land for a burial ground for the victims of the Black Death. Then came the founding of the Carthusian Monastery in 1371 followed by the building of the Tudor Mansions in 1545, finally, the setting up of the charity for an Almhouse and School in 1611. Our visit will conclude with tea and biscuits, which will be served in the Old Library.
Charterhouse is very near Barbican Tube Station (on the Metropolitan , Circle and the Hammersmith and City Lines).When you emerge from the tube, turn left, and after a few yards, turn left again into Carthusian Street. Cross to the right hand side of the road, and soon you will come to Charterhouse Square. Turn right and follow the black railings, at this point you should have seen Florin Court block of flats (where Hercule Poirot lives in the television series) on your right. Turn left again and soon you will come to the Gatehouse on the right hand side of the road, just before you come to the Hotel Mafmaison. We will assemble in front of the Gatehouse, where we will be met by the Reverend Stanley Underhill, one of our members and a resident of Charterhouse, who will be our guide for the afternoon.
If you are travelling from the south, take the Thameslink train and alight at Farringdon. When you emerge from the station, turn left and walk up Cowcross Street and left again into St. John Street. Take the pedestrain crossing in front of Barclays Bank and turn right. At the corner, turn left into Charterhouse Street, continue walking until you come to a small turning on the left, and you will see some black gates in front of you, go through the gates, pass the hotel Malmaison, where you will see the Gatehouse entrance to Charterhouse, our meeting place.
Tickets, priced £8 (including refreshments) are available from Mary-Jane Burcher, Flat 6, Oak House, 6, Carlton Drive, London, SW15 2BZ. Cheques, together with a stamped, addressed envelope, should be made payable to the Vic^Wells Association.
This should be a very special and interesting outing, and, as many of you will be aware, our Vice President, James Penstone has been a resident at Charterhouse for some years, and he has promised me he will be around to greet us on May 11th!! Our grateful thanks to our Treasurer, Stanley Underhill, for arranging this outing.
EDITOR.
REHEARSALS.
Saturday, 18th March.
Scottish Ballet will not be having a dress rehearsal, but Members have been invited to watch their class on stage. Please let the Secretary (Dr. Richard Reavill) know if you wish to attend, and he will be able to confirm the time of the class.
Wednesday, 24th May at 4 pm.
Rambert Dance Company have invited members to an afternoon rehearsal at Sadler's Wells. Please pay £5 to the Rambert representative in the foyer.
JAMES RANGER.
DID YOU GO TO THE THEATRE DURING THE 1950S?
The Arts and Humanities Research Council has awarded a large grant to a team from Sheffield University for the Theatre Archive Project, which is aiming to establish an oral history of theatre from 1945-1968. The researchers want to conduct as many interviews as possible with people who went to the theatre or were involved in it during that time and so far they have interviewed a wide range of practitioners, audience members and industry professionals including Timothy West, Frith Banbury, Michael Frayn, Ian McDiarmid, Corin Redgrave, Arnold Wesker. But they want more volunteers for interviews and they would like to hear both from theatre practitioners and from audience members. The interviews will be deposited at the National Sound Archive at the British Library and transcripts will be
published online, with the hope that sound extracts will eventually be downloadable. Interviews are conducted by students from Sheffield University who are studying a module entitled ‘British Theatre 1945-68’ and who have been trained in interview techniques that emphasise the voice of the interviewee rather than that of the interviewer – so you can say exactly what you like and exactly what you think and thought about the theatre you encountered. The researchers are also particularly interested in going beyond the legitimate theatre to include, for example, Variety.
If anyone would be willing to be interviewed please contact:
Dr Ewan Jeffrey
Research Associate
AHRC University of Sheffield British Library Theatre Archive Project
Department of English Literature
University of Sheffield
Shearwood Road,
Sheffield S10 2TD
Tel: +44 (114) 222 8484
Fax: +44 (114) 222 8481
www.bl.uk/theatrearchive
He can be emailed on e.jeffrey@sheffield.ac.uk
Mollie Webb runs a small but unique reference library for the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. Members of the Vic-Wells Association are able to use the collection so if anyone wants to carry out research in the area of dance, please feel free to contact her. The Library is open on Monday and Thursday from 10.30 to 3.30 and is located at Imperial House, 22/26 Paul Street, London EC2A 4QE. Mollie Webb can be contacted on:
Telephone 020 7377 1577 (extension 225) - Fax 020 7247 8979
IN MEMORY OF........
This month we mourn two great ladies, one a soprano at Sadler's Wells and the other a famous Prima Ballerina.
MARION LOWE.
One of the most loved performers, Marion joined the Wells' chorus from the Royal Manchester College of Music in 1943, After playing her first names role on the 27th April, 1946 (Mrs. Page in Vaughan Williams' Sir John In Love") she became a Principal on 13th September, 1947, the day after her 26th birthday.
In a career with the Wells that spanned over 25 years, she developed a huge repertoire of roles, including Mimi in "La Boheme", Marguerite in "Faust"f Butterly, Fiordiligo in "Cosi fan Tutte", Tatiana in "Eugene Onegin", the Countess in "Figaro" and Charlotte in "Werther".
While Marion always said that the highlight of her career was singing opposite
Kirsten Flagstad in Gluck's "Alceste" it is for her brilliant Valencienne in the
1958 production of Lehar's "The Merry Widow" that she will be more remembered.
"The Merry Widow" of that year (still available on CD) is one of the Wells'
greatest productions, playing to sold out houses both at Rosebery Avenue and at
the Coliseum, not to mention the Royal Variety Performance.
Marion's career outside the Wells included numerous promenade concerts at the
Albert Hall, dozens of oratorios and literally hundreds of television and radio
appearances.
Anyone wishing to contact her family can do so by calling her son, Robin, on
01753 822157. Donations in her memory, if desired, can be made to Diabetes UK.
JAMES RANGER.
MOIRA SHEARER.
Moira Shearer, the internationally renewed dancer, died recently aged 80. She was well known as the star of the famous film "The Red Shoes" in 1948, the Hans Anderson tale of the girl who can't stop dancing after slipping on a pair of red shoes, in which she dazzles audiences all over the world. Moira made her debut as a teenager with the International Ballet at the Alhambra Theatre, Glasgow in 1941, before being signed up by Sadler's Wells the following year. Over the next ten years, she danced all the major classic roles, touring with the company after the war throughout Britain, France, Belgium and Germany
It was the move of the Company to the Royal Opera House in 1946 that confirmed her position as a ballerina. In the opening production of "The Sleeping Beauty", she followed Margot Fonteyn and Pamela May in the role of Princess Aurora.
Moira was not only a ballet dancer but an accomplished actress, making several films, apart from "The Red Shoes". Her stage career included appearing at the Edinburgh Festival where she played "Titania" in 1954, seasons at the Bristol Old Vic and among her roles were Madame Ranevskaya in "The Cherry Orchard", Sally Bowles in "I am a Camera". Judith Bliss in "Hay Fever" and Major Barbara. Her last stage appearance was in 1994 in a production "The Aspern Papers". She was married to the author and broadcaster Ludovic Kennedy and had four children. She died January 31st.
MARY-JANE BURCHER
ROSE TEMPLE
Sadler’s Wells were recently given the scrapbooks of Rose Temple, born 13th August 1909, which were on display at our AGM. Rose joined the Old Vic in 1933 and, after a year's apprenticeship, was appointed an Assistant Stage Manager by Lilian Baylis in 1934. She later moved to the BBC and worked with Uncle Mac, who some of you will remember from childhood. The collection included her first and second Old Vic contracts signed by Lilian Baylis as well as a hand written report by Lilian Baylis, saying she had worked well in her first year. The scrapbooks were full of Old Vic and other theatre programmes as well as photographs of many of the actors who appeared at the Old Vic. The collection has been given to the Theatre Museum.
JAMES RANGER
A VISIT TO THE ROYAL HOLLOWAY COLLEGE
TO A PERFORMANCE OF "WATERLOO ROAD"
BY STUDENTS OF THE DRAMA COURSE
In mid December a small group of Vic Wells members went to the Royal Holloway College, by kind permission of Professor Liz Schafter - our new Registrar - to see a student presentation of "Waterloo Road", a play previously given at the Young Vie in 1987, written by Vera Gottleig and Robert Gordon.
After a tour of this amazing building (which unfortunately I missed due to heavy traffic), we attended a pre-performance reception, kindly given by Professor Schafer, and then crossed to the studio for the play.
"Waterloo Road" is about the early days of Lilian Baylis at the Old Vie. The
studio had an atmosphere very reminiscent of the backstage Old Vie before its
latest make-over. The role of Miss Baylis was split over four students during
the evening, and it was impossible to decide who was the Lady of the piece,
though each gave remarkable performances, whether organising everything and
everybody, beseeching the Lord to save the latest crisis. The supporting members
of the cast turned in sterling performances.
While this version of the play was a slightly shortened version of the original,
with a new specially written scene added between Lilian Baylis and Ninette de
Valois, played by Lucy Blenant, who looked very much like "Madam" at that point
in her career, as seen in photographs of that period.
Other well known characters who made brief appearances included Sybil Thorndike, Ben Great, Russell Thorndike and Ehel Smyth.
TIM ROKE.
THEATRE CENTRE THANKS VIC-WELLS ASSOCIATION!
Pioneering London theatre company, Theatre Centre, has gratefully received an award of £1,000 from the Association to help it reach new audiences in the capital. The company may not be known to many readers as much of its activity takes place in schools. But it has a long history...
In the 1940s Old Vic junior stage manager Brian Way would look out of the prompter's peephole during special matinees for young people and observe the audience. He'd note the huge noise as they entered the theatre, the roar of expectancy before curtain up, the hopeful silence as the play started. Then a buzz would start, whispers when children were explaining to each other why Hamlet was doing this or why Juliet was doing that. Sometimes missiles would be thrown! These observations led to a lifetime of exploration and discovery about working for young audiences.
Brian founded a company, Theatre Centre, in November 1953. Two remarkable individuals assisted Brian and his colleague Margaret Faulkes: celebrated crime-writer Dorothy L. Sayers provided the initial £250 required to incorporate the company (in its first season Theatre Centre presented Sayers' controversial play The Man Bom to Be King in a Mayfair church). Legal guidance was provided by a young lawyer, G. Laurence Harbottle, whose company (Harbottle and Lewis) is now one of the country's largest and leading law practices, specialists in the entertainment industry.
In 1954 Theatre Centre received a commission from the London County Council to work in schools, allowing Brian the opportunity to develop innovative work in unorthodox settings. In time the company specialised in theatre for young people and became known for its exhaustive national touring. As Brian said, in a message for the company's 50th birthday, high quality professional theatre for young people is our mission and this entails: 'Exploration, risk taking, discovery - all devoted to theatre that might be most meaningful to the hearts, minds and spirits of children and young people.' Led by Rosamunde Hutt since 1993, Theatre Centre creates, on average, 3 new shows per year. Education outreach focuses on support for teachers and on the Authentic Voices programme which mentors teenagers in writing for the stage and provides opportunities for their writing to receive a professional staging. We have used the Lilian Baylis Theatre at Sadler"s Wells for festivals and showcases.
Currently we are at the brand new Unicorn Theatre in Southwark presenting an adaptation of Eva Ibbotson's award-winning novel Journey fo the River Sea. A lively adventure story set in colonial era Brazil the production features live music performed by a multi-talented cast - they also have to waltz and use capoeira (Brazilian martial art)! (Performances run 9 February to 25 March.) We're developing a new play by much sought-after Nigerian writer Oladipo Agboluaje which will trace the history of an iconic object, perhaps a musical instrument, through Black history and culture. We'll be developing the show with young people in Hackney and plan to present public performances at the Hackney Empire Theatre. This theatre survives without major public subsidy and Theatre Centre will have to hire the facilities - hence the need for financial help which your Association has provided. You are making an essential contribution to winning a new audience for theatre: Thank You! We welcome interest in our work and hope that we can form a friendship with the Vic-Wells Association.
Thomas Kell
Administrator
020 7729 3066
thomas@theatre-centre.co.uk
www.theatre-centre.co.uk
Theatre Centre
Shoreditch Town Hall
380 Old Street
London EC 1V 9LT
VISIT TO BRISTOL OLD VIC TO SEE "ALADDIN"
On January 28th, a small party of us set off for our annual visit to the Bristol Old Vic. I have to admit it was with somewhat reluctance that I undertook the trip. Although I had initially almost sold out the tickets I had originally purchased, one by one, just like ten green bottles, people cancelled and cried off, some at the last minute. A lot of this was due to the excessively cold weather we were having, and I couldn't really blame them. However, egged on by our former Chairman, Iris Arlen, who came with us with her grandson Stephen, eight of us - yes, just eight - set off in a warm coach, with a super lady driver, Diane. Luckily, although cold, it was a beautiful sunny day, which raised our spirits. Our Secretary Richard and his wife, Ann, were also in the depleted party.
On our arrival at the theatre, we went our separate ways for lunch, and then to the matinee of "Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp" by the famous author Philip Pulman. After last year's debacle "Alice In Wonderland" we were all a little apprehensive, but we need not of worried, although a more modern version of the "Aladdin" story, it was well performed and had a lot of humour, and, especially in the second half, a lot of magic, which kept us all intrigued. The golden Palace that Aladdin built for his Princess was particularly imposing, and it was all very enjoyable.
After the show, we were greeted by the Chairman of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre Club, Ray Price, and treated to the usual delicious spread. Some of the company, including Aladdin himself came up to talk to us, and Iris thanked thanked our hosts for giving us such a warm welcome. Ray said it was always a delight to see us at the theatre, and he hoped that, despite the fact there were so few of us, that we would continue to keep up the long time visits.
We were able to set off in good time to go home, and reached London in good time to get home early. My thanks to Iris for her kind support throughout the day, and have to say that, despite my early apprehensions, we all had a very happy time. You never know, do you?!!
MARY-JANE BURCHER.
THE BALLET OF THE PARIS OPERA
IN LE PARC AT SADLER’S WELLS THEATRE
by Richard Reavil
The performance of Anjelin Preljocaj’s Le Parc at Sadler’s Wells begs two immediate questions. Firstly, why does the Paris Opera Ballet only visit London about once every twenty years? Secondly, was Monica Mason justified in dumping the Royal Ballet production of Le Parc scheduled by the previous Director, Ross Stretton, as soon as she took over from him?
The Opera Ballet is very much focused on Paris. Its company of 150 plus dancers plays in both the old Paris Opera House, the Palais Garnier, and also at the new and cavernous Opera Bastille, occasionally simultaneously. Its touchstone is the opinion of Paris, and its world ranking as a ballet troup appears only of secondary importance. The vast majority of its superb dancers are trained in its school, and the majority of its principal dancers (‘etoiles’) remain with the company for the whole of their careers. Only a few, for example Violette Verdy and Sylvie Guillem moved on to international careers, and the departure of the latter even caused questions to be asked in the French parliament. The company has very high standards of technique and artistry, and a unique style.
The company has visited the UK more recently than their last visit to the Royal Opera House some twenty-two years ago. They were present at the opening of the Lowry Theatre in Salford a few years back. However, their appearances in the UK are a rarity, and in London a greater rarity. How come there is so little exchange between the Paris Opera Ballet and the Royal Ballet, when the two capitals are within a couple of hundred miles? We see more of the Bolshoi, and even more of the Kirov, despite their distance of 1500 miles. Perhaps the Russians need the income! So Alistair Spalding is to be much congratulated for securing this visit to the Wells. Eat your heart out, Covent Garden management!
The company brought Le Parc, a popular modern work which had just completed its revival run at the Opera. Its modest cast of twenty or so allowed a detachment from the company to make a quick sortie (three days, four performances), to London, while the remaining dancers kept the home fires burning in Paris, though perhaps that is an unfortunate choice of metaphor. The need to keep the customers at their home base fully supplied may explain the limitation on touring. Since the fans in Paris are subsidised by the French taxpayer at about double the rate of their opposite numbers in London, perhaps the Company feel honour-bound to ensure that there are always Opera Ballet performances to be seen in Paris.
I saw the matinee performance on Saturday 15th October, led by the etoile Aurelie Dupont, and the recently retired etoile, (now a maitre de ballet), Laurent Hilaire. These two danced quite beautifully, and their three pas-de-deux which ended each of the three sections of the work provided the highlight both in terms of dance and choreography. I say three sections rather than Acts, because Le Parc runs for about ninety minutes, and is performed continuously, with two speedy set changes. This makes a refreshing contrast from the tediously extended intervals at the Royal Opera House, but these may be geared to the financial imperatives of selling moderate quality food at grossly inflated prices.
Unlike Alistair Spalding, I had no prior affection for those few works of Angelin Preljocaj that I had previously seen. Indeed Helikopter (also at the Wells) is recalled only for its deafening sound-track which nearly reduced my brain to blanc-mange. The score for Le Parc was much more acceptable: attractive, if somewhat random, selections from Mozart string works and
piano concertos, cemented together with a rather mysterious (but fortunately
only gently amplified) sound collage by Goran Vejvoda.
The theme of the work is the code of conduct in the 17th and 18th centuries
concerning seduction: encounter; dalliance; resistance; conquest; and
consummation. In the first scene the men sit on chairs and eye-up the talent.
Then games of increasingly animated musical chairs are played, but in
choreography which has the structured formality of dances of the baroque period.
Some interaction is acceptable, but clear demarcation lines are apparent. In the
second Act, crinolined young ladies practise swooning to numbers, and some of
the men become stressed at their inability to progress their desires. Later the
ladies discard the heavy costumes in favour of light shifts and flirtatious
games with the men among the stylised tree-trunks. The dances are more
integrated in the final act, but less memorable.
Most memorable was the dancing of Dupont and Hilaire, both in accompanied solos, and particularly in the three major pas-de-deux which take the two lovers from their first tentative encounter, via her strong rejection of his affections, to the final duet of total commitment. Strong classicists though these dancers are, they are totally in command of the modern choreography.
So, a very interesting work, but one for which an understanding of French culture, particularly in its relationships between the sexes, and French literature of the 17th and 18th centuries, would have provided a helpful background. I can imagine this work wows Paris, and reflects the Parisian self-image of sophistication.
Would it fit the programme of the Royal Opera House, the style of the Royal Ballet, and the taste of the ROH audience? Monica Mason clearly felt it did not, and it was she who had to carry the can. That splendid periodical Dance Europe did a quick ‘straw poll’ in its November edition, and of the 16 writers quoted, 11 felt Monica was right to cancel, 3 that she was wrong, and 2 were unsure. Arguments in favour of cancellation included incompatibility with ROH audience taste (possible), outside the skills and style range of the Royal Ballet (no way, the stretch would do them good), and that Le Parc is a chamber work, with passages of slight choreography and some repetition (arguable). Arguments against cancellation included the need to expand the range of the Royal Ballet repertory (true), that Preljocaj is an international choreographer who would have presented interesting challenges to the RB dancers, (true), and that to avoid this work showed ‘risk aversion’.
The latter point is rather ingenuous, and fails to recognise the circumstances in which the decision was made. Monica Mason was appointed in haste as the Acting Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet in the wake of the debacle of the Stretton regime, and his precipitate departure. With many of his experiments being greeted with loud critical disapproval, this was not the time to add further ‘?risks’. Also, the more experimental work is not well supported by the ROH audience, and has to be propped-up by tedious long runs of the standard ancient and modern classics. Maintenance of a very high attendance level (as close as possible to 90%) is critical to the tightly balanced finances of the ROH, and the rule of ‘bums on seats’ will apply almost all the time.
My feeling is that Monica’s decision was right, and inevitable in the circumstances. Now, happily for us all, she is established in post for the next few years. However, the limitation of innovation within the RB repertory remains a serious problem, and there is a danger that the ROH may become a splendid museum for the classics and established works from the RB back-catalogue. The DeValois policy of decades ago, included as a matter of principle a proportion of new, (and often very transitory), works. This would be difficult with today’s fiscal constraints. More experimental dance works will continue to appear in Islington, and so Le Parc was admirably sited at the Wells. Unless ways can be found to introduce new dance works at Covent Garden, seekers of dance innovation will continue to beat a path to Rosebury Avenue. This should cause the management of the ROH some concern, but will certainly not trouble the management at Sadler’s Wells.
AWARD FOR SIR IAN.
Those of us who saw the immensely enjoyable "Aladdin" at the Old Vic, which was presented for the second year running, starring Sir lan McKellen as "Widow Twankey" will be pleased to learn that Sir lan has just received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his performance. It was presented to him at the Olivier Awards on 26th February, and was richly deserved. Sir lan's amazing virtuosity knowns nobounds - shortly after doing Twankey, he is about to appear in a new play "The Cut"*, as a complete change. "The Cut" is to play at Bristol Old Vic at Easter, where they are eagerly looking forward to welcoming him and the company I thought this year's "Aladdin" - pure pantomime this time - was even better than last year, and I very much hope that Sir lan will play Dame again. I know he wants to - he just revels in it.
MARY-JANE BURCHER.
JOAN BROWN
One of our longest serving Committed members, Joan Brown, has suffered an
accident, and is ill in hospital. I have sent her a card from us all, and am
keeping in touch with her niece. I know we all wish Joan a speedy recovery - she
has served the Vic-Wells for longer than most, and is a most loyal and stalwart
member. Get well soon, Joan - we are thinking about you.
EDITOR.
SADLER'S WELLS; Tel: 0870 737 7737
14th - 18th March: Scottish Ballet
29 March- 1st April: Richard Alston Dance Company
6th & 7th April: Russell Maliphant Company
9th & 10th April: London Philharmonic Orchestra presents
screening of "Romeo & Juliet" ballet.
29th & 30th April: Festival of Hip-Hop Dance Theatre
3rd - 13th May: Northern Ballet Theatre
17th - 20th May: Les Ballets C de la B
23rd - 27th May: Rambert Dance Company
31st May - 11th June: Kabuki
13th - 17th June: Sylvie Guillem & Russell Maliphant
20 - 24th June: Companie Metros
30th June - 2nd July: Sangeetham =*• Indian Dance & Music
18th - 23rd July: Carlos Acosta & guests from Royal Ballet
27th July
- 20th August: Brasil Brasileiro
LILIAN BAYLIS THEATRE: DATES TO BE CONFIRMED.
April, 2006: "Nymph Errant" by Cole Porters
July, 2006 "Flower Drum Song" by Rodgers & Oscar
Hammerstein -
LOST MUSICALS -- SUNDAYS AT 4 pm Ring Box Office for details.
PEACOCK THEATRE:
21st March - 8th April Les Ballets Trokadero de Monte Carlo
21st April - 13th May: Pac Pena
24th May - llth June: Tango por Dor
18th - 21st May: London Children's Ballet "The Scarlet
Pimpernal"
6th July: London Studio Centre Jazz Dance Company
9th July: Images of Dance
THE OLD VIC; Tel: 0870 060 6628
Until 22nd April: "Resurrection Blues"
From September, 2006: Kevin Spacey in "A Moon for the Misbegotten"
DIARY
March 29th: Visit to Foundlings Hospital
April 22nd: Shakespeare Party - Old Vic
May 11th: Visit to Charterhouse.
SUBSCRIPTIONS.
Subscriptions run from 1st July in each year = rates are Annual £7.50 (OAP's £6); Life Membership £75. New subscribers and outstanding subscriptions should be sent to the Hon. Registrar, Professor Liz Schafer, 373 Stroude Road, Virginia Water, Surrey, GU25 4DB
THEATRE MUSEUM
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Some of you may have already heard disturbing rumours about the imminent closure
of London's Theatre Museum. This shocking and completely unexpected news has
taken the museum staff completely by surprise, and the future now looks grim for
the world's greatest collection of British theatrical memorabilia. The V&A,
which runs the Theatre Museum, argues that no one cares what happens to it. I
would urge you and/or anyone else you know who feels strongly about the future
of the museum to prove them wrong, and write and protest to the Director of the
V&A (who's decision this is) at the following address:
Mark Jones
Director
Victoria & Albert Museum
email: mark.jones@vam.ac.uk
LIZ SCHAFER