Print of a view of the stage door of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Russell Street, entitled 'The Stage Door'. c.1927. Signed Peter Bax, Bequest of Myrette Morven.

Black and white print on card of a view of the stage door of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, showing the view from Russell Street of the open stage door at night time, with possibly rain-washed streets, entitled 'The Stage Door'.

Bequest of Myrette Morvan

This print was acquired in 1987 as part of a small collection given by the estate of the actress Myrette Morven (1907-1986), who was born in Dublin as Eileen Trueman Wyly. Myrette Morven appeared in many important musicals in the 1920s, notably the successful Drury Lane productions Rose-Marie, 1925, The Desert Song, 1927, and Show Boat 1927. She continued her career as an actress and dancer into the 1950s, in plays, musicals and films, and appeared in productions including Something in the Air, Palace Theatre, 1944 in which she understudied and appeared for Cicely Courtneidge, and in films including The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950) and Two Way Stretch (1960). The collection comprised programmes, photographs, silk programmes, and memorabilia relating to her career including the Totem Pole girl cracker produced by Tom Smith’s cracker company (S.96-2007), a souvenir felt doll of a Totem-pole chorus girl (S.95-2007) a small wooden figure of a Totem pole girl (S.97-2007), and two other prints by Peter Bax of Drury Lane Theatre in 1927, one a glimpse from the prompt corner of the Totem girl dance in which Myrette Morven took part taking place on stage in 1927 (S.98-2007).

This print is one of a set of three, one of which is dated 1927.

This print shows a night-time view of the portico and the open Stage Door at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane from the other side of Russell Street, Covent Garden. The sturdy ionic pillars were a feature of the theatre designed by the architect Benjamin Wyatt which opened in October 1812. This was the fourth Drury Lane Theatre on the same site since the original 1663 building was destroyed by fire in 1772; the 1774 building was demolished in 1791 because it was too small, and the 1794 building was again destroyed by fire in 1809.

The artist Peter Bax worked at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane as a stage manager and a stage designer before moving to the British Broadcasting Company as a Studio Manager in 1934. He was one of the original team of people, several of which were recruited for their theatre backgrounds, to be appointed by the BBC to start preparations for high-resolution broadcasting. After the war he became the Artistic Director at Alexandra Palace, the home of BBC television after1936.

S.100-2007