Set Design
1945 (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.
Messel’s first post-war production was Sheridan’s comedy of manners, The Rivals (1775). Performed at the Criterion Theatre in 1945, and directed by William Armstrong and Edith Evans, he designed costumes and sets in pastiche of 18th-century style. The artificiality and lightness of his designs were well suited to the improbable plot and satiric spirit of the play.
A design for a curtain which descended at the end of each act.
Messel’s first post-war production was Sheridan’s comedy of manners, The Rivals (1775). Performed at the Criterion Theatre in 1945, and directed by William Armstrong and Edith Evans, he designed costumes and sets in pastiche of 18th-century style. The artificiality and lightness of his designs were well suited to the improbable plot and satiric spirit of the play.
A design for a curtain which descended at the end of each act.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour on paper |
| Brief description | Set design by Oliver Messel for curtain design in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play The Rivals, Criterion Theatre 1945. |
| Physical description | Set design for a curtain design. A pencil sketch of a house and landscape framed with flowers, stems and leaves painted in watercolour. |
| Dimensions |
|
| 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 | The Rivals, a comedy in five acts by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1775). Oliver Messel’s production first produced by H. M. Tennent Productions Ltd. And C.E.M.A. at the Criterion Theatre, London on 24 September, 1945. It was directed by William Armstrong and Edith Evans with assistance from Tyrone Guthrie. It featured Edith Evans as Mrs. Malaprop and Anthony Quayle as Captain Absolute. 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. |
| 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. Messel’s first post-war production was Sheridan’s comedy of manners, The Rivals (1775). Performed at the Criterion Theatre in 1945, and directed by William Armstrong and Edith Evans, he designed costumes and sets in pastiche of 18th-century style. The artificiality and lightness of his designs were well suited to the improbable plot and satiric spirit of the play. A design for a curtain which descended at the end of each act. |
| Bibliographic reference | Pinkham, Roger (ed.) Oliver Messel: an exhibition held at the Theatre Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, 22 June - 30 September 1983.
London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1983. 200p., ill
ISBN 0905209508) |
| Other number | ROT 2480 - TM Rotation Number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.259-2006 |
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| Record created | August 25, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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