Not currently on display at the V&A

The Moon and Sixpence

Design
1957 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Set design by Leslie Hurry for Act II Scene II of The Moon and Sixpence, Sadler's Wells, 1957

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
TitleThe Moon and Sixpence (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Ink and watercolour on paper
Brief description
Set design by Leslie Hurry for Act II Scene II of The Moon and Sixpence, Sadler's Wells, 1957
Physical description
Ink and watercolour set design for the 1957 production of The Moon and Sixpence at Sadler's Wells Theatre, comprising a hotel frontage with a balcony and tables and a chair in front against a multicoloured background.
Dimensions
  • Height: 19cm
  • Width: 28.8cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • Act II. Sc. II (on front)
  • £250 'Moon & Sixpence' Set A (on reverse)
Credit line
Given by Mrs Caro Rathbone
Summary
Set design by Leslie Hurry for Act II Scene II of The Moon and Sixpence, Sadler's Wells, 1957

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.1490-2014

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Record createdJuly 3, 2014
Record URL
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