Sadlers Wells - History
Sadler’s Wells Theatre, which over the years has comprised of six theatres in total, is located on Rosebury Avenue in Islington, London. The nearest underground station takes the form of Angel with railway station including Euston, King’s Cross and Waterloo Train Station. There is also a bus service that operates between Sadler’s Well and Waterloo (plus Waterloo East), called the Sadler’s Well Express Bus (SWX).
When looking at the history of this London venue, it is hard to know where to start in detailing it. The theatre is currently in its sixth incarnation in Islington with the very first appearing in the 1680s. It was the result of Richard Sadler, who presented a ‘Musick House’; the name Sadler’s Wells derives not only from his name but also from the springs which were claimed to have healing properties.
The second venue arrived in 1765 under the management of Thomas Rosoman, during which time various different productions hit the stage, including A Fig for the French as well as well known actors in the forms of Joseph Grimaldi of ‘Joey the Clown’ fame. During the rest of the 1800s various highs and lows hit the venue. Productions to appear included Antony and Cleopatra (1849), Pericles (1854), Macbeth (1844) and Trelawny of the Wells (1898). However, by the end of the century the venue had declined leading to is condemnation as dangerous structure in 1878.
It reopened the following year in its fourth incarnation. It was during this time a range of artists made appearances as well as many shows as the venue became a music hall. This was before it was converted into a cinema. The 1880s and 90s had seen the likes of Marie Lloyd and Roy Redgrave appear on the stage, but by 1896 moving pictures became the talking point of this historical site. However, things were not looking up and by 1915 the venue had closed again, becoming very run down.
The fifth theatre opened in January 1931 after six years of attempting to bring Sadler’s Wells back for the public. This venture was taken very seriously under the watch of Lilian Baylis, who owned the Old Vic Theatre. Between this time and 1998 various productions and performers appeared from the likes of John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin in productions that included Twelfth Night and Peter Grimes. This period also saw various name changes including The Sadler’s Well Royal Ballet (1977-1987) as well as the opening of a second theatre in the form of the The Lilian Baylis Theatre (1988).
The sixth and current theatre dates from 1998 with the help of £42m of National Lottery Money. The opening show was a performance by the Rambert Dance Company and since then the productions have included Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures as well as events that include zero degrees and the annual Breakin’ Convention.
