Set design
Design
ca.1960-1970 (made)
ca.1960-1970 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Working drawing for the set design for an apparently unrealised production of Diary of a Madman by Nikolai Gogol, created by Leslie Hurry, ca.1960-70.
Leslie Hurry (1909-1978) trained at the Royal Academy and during the 1930s became known as a surrealist painter. A one-man show in London in 1942 was seen by the theatre director, Michael Benthall, who recommended Hurry to the dancer and choreographer, Robert Helpmann, then planning a ballet based on Shakespeare's Hamlet. The success of his designs set Hurry on a second career as one of the most distinguished theatre designers of his generation. He designed operas, ballets and plays, notably Swan Lake for the Sadler's Wells Ballet in 1943, a production which stayed in the repertoire for thirty years; Venice Preserv'd for Peter Brook (1953); the Ring Cycle at Covent Garden (1954), and Troilus and Cressida at Stratford for Peter Hall (1960), famous for being staged in a sand pit.
Leslie Hurry (1909-1978) trained at the Royal Academy and during the 1930s became known as a surrealist painter. A one-man show in London in 1942 was seen by the theatre director, Michael Benthall, who recommended Hurry to the dancer and choreographer, Robert Helpmann, then planning a ballet based on Shakespeare's Hamlet. The success of his designs set Hurry on a second career as one of the most distinguished theatre designers of his generation. He designed operas, ballets and plays, notably Swan Lake for the Sadler's Wells Ballet in 1943, a production which stayed in the repertoire for thirty years; Venice Preserv'd for Peter Brook (1953); the Ring Cycle at Covent Garden (1954), and Troilus and Cressida at Stratford for Peter Hall (1960), famous for being staged in a sand pit.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Set design (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Ink, black wax crayon and watercolour wash on thin paper. |
| Brief description | Working drawing for the set design for an apparently unrealised production of Diary of a Madman by Nikolai Gogol, created by Leslie Hurry, ca.1960-70 |
| Physical description | Working drawing for the set design for an apparently unrealised production of Diary of a Madman by Nikolai Gogol. The design is executed in pencil, wax crayon, watercolour and ink. The image shows a section of the interior of a shadowy building. The room visible in the foreground is sparsely furnished with a bed, chair and stool. The walls and staircase visible at the rear of the room are covered with a pale yellow and grey watercolour wash. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'Leslie Hurry' (Handwritten annotation in the bottom left hand corner of the design) |
| Credit line | Given by Mrs Caro Rathbone |
| Literary reference | Diary of a Madman |
| Summary | Working drawing for the set design for an apparently unrealised production of Diary of a Madman by Nikolai Gogol, created by Leslie Hurry, ca.1960-70. Leslie Hurry (1909-1978) trained at the Royal Academy and during the 1930s became known as a surrealist painter. A one-man show in London in 1942 was seen by the theatre director, Michael Benthall, who recommended Hurry to the dancer and choreographer, Robert Helpmann, then planning a ballet based on Shakespeare's Hamlet. The success of his designs set Hurry on a second career as one of the most distinguished theatre designers of his generation. He designed operas, ballets and plays, notably Swan Lake for the Sadler's Wells Ballet in 1943, a production which stayed in the repertoire for thirty years; Venice Preserv'd for Peter Brook (1953); the Ring Cycle at Covent Garden (1954), and Troilus and Cressida at Stratford for Peter Hall (1960), famous for being staged in a sand pit. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.2402-2014 |
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| Record created | December 8, 2014 |
| Record URL |
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