Set Model
ca.1949 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Great Britain’s leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, Oliver Messel (1904-1978) won international acclaim for his lavish, painterly and poetic designs informed by period styles. His work spans ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue. Messel’s traditional style of theatre design became unfashionable from the mid 1950s onwards, and he increasingly concentrated on painting, interior and textile design, including designing luxury homes in the Caribbean.
Ring Round the Moon, a translation of Jean Anouilh's play L'Invitation au Château by Christopher Fry, was first performed at the Globe Theatre (now the Gielgud Theatre), in 1950. It enjoyed a substantial run in the West End before moving to New York.
Peter Brook, the director, suggested that the setting should be a winter garden or conservatory with plants and trees. According to Carl Toms, Messel's assistant, Messel took his inspiration from a Portuguese railway station. To give the set a light, weightless quality, he insisted that it should be made from metal rather than wood, which was then the standard material used for theatre set building. Although untypical of Messel's style, the set is one of his most memorable designs, and complemented the elegance and fantasy of the poetic drama.
Ring Round the Moon, a translation of Jean Anouilh's play L'Invitation au Château by Christopher Fry, was first performed at the Globe Theatre (now the Gielgud Theatre), in 1950. It enjoyed a substantial run in the West End before moving to New York.
Peter Brook, the director, suggested that the setting should be a winter garden or conservatory with plants and trees. According to Carl Toms, Messel's assistant, Messel took his inspiration from a Portuguese railway station. To give the set a light, weightless quality, he insisted that it should be made from metal rather than wood, which was then the standard material used for theatre set building. Although untypical of Messel's style, the set is one of his most memorable designs, and complemented the elegance and fantasy of the poetic drama.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Wood, cardboard, fabric and paint. |
| Brief description | Set model by Oliver Messel for the Winter Garden in Jean Anouilh's play Ring Round the Moon (translated by Christopher Fry), Globe Theatre, London, 1950. |
| Physical description | Set model by Oliver Messel for the Winter Garden in Ring Round the Moon, Globe Theatre, 1950. The set model is enclosed in a wooden box and lined with velvet on the sides. A view of a Winter garden/greenhouse made from acetate. Inside is a tall palm tree. Large foliage and flowers grow alongside it. In front of the Winter garden, a wicker chair with red cushions. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Design |
| Credit line | Acquired with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund and the Friends of the V&A |
| Object history | Ring Round the Moon, a translation of Jean Anouilh’s play L’Invitation au Château (1947) by Christopher Fry, was first performed at the Globe Theatre, London (now the Gielgud Theatre), on 26 January 1950. The production, presented by H. M. Tennent Productions Ltd, was directed by Peter Brook, with a cast that included Paul Scofield, Claire Bloom and Margaret Rutherford. Lord Snowdon, Oliver Messel's nephew, inherited Messel's theatre designs and other designs and artefacts. The designs were briefly stored in a disused chapel in Kensington Palace before being housed at the V&A from 1981 on indefinite loan. The V&A Theatre Museum purchased the Oliver Messel collection from Lord Snowdon in 2005. Historical significance: One of Messel's most famed set designs. |
| Production | Reason For Production: Commission |
| Summary | Great Britain’s leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, Oliver Messel (1904-1978) won international acclaim for his lavish, painterly and poetic designs informed by period styles. His work spans ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue. Messel’s traditional style of theatre design became unfashionable from the mid 1950s onwards, and he increasingly concentrated on painting, interior and textile design, including designing luxury homes in the Caribbean. Ring Round the Moon, a translation of Jean Anouilh's play L'Invitation au Château by Christopher Fry, was first performed at the Globe Theatre (now the Gielgud Theatre), in 1950. It enjoyed a substantial run in the West End before moving to New York. Peter Brook, the director, suggested that the setting should be a winter garden or conservatory with plants and trees. According to Carl Toms, Messel's assistant, Messel took his inspiration from a Portuguese railway station. To give the set a light, weightless quality, he insisted that it should be made from metal rather than wood, which was then the standard material used for theatre set building. Although untypical of Messel's style, the set is one of his most memorable designs, and complemented the elegance and fantasy of the poetic drama. |
| Associated object | S.255-2006 (Design) |
| Bibliographic reference | Pinkham, Roger (ed.) Oliver Messel, London, V&A, 1983 |
| Other number | ROT 8827 - TM Rotation Number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.225-2006 |
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| Record created | July 31, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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