Not currently on display at the V&A

The Moon and Sixpence

Costume Design
1956 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This costume design by Leslie Hurry for a Man with Beard in John Gardner's The Moon and Sixpence at Sadler's Wells Theatre in 1956.


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

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Moon and Sixpence (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Pen and sepia and watercolour drawing on paper
Brief description
Costume design by Leslie Hurry for a Man with Beard in John Gardner's The Moon and Sixpence, Sadler's Wells, 1956
Physical description
Sepia pen and watercolour costume design of a Man with Beard in 1956 production of The Moon and Sixpence at Sadler's Wells Theatre with pink fabric swatch pinned to left side.
Dimensions
  • Height: 46cm
  • Width: 30.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • Man with beard (Front side at bottom)
  • V (Bottom right corner in purple ink.)
  • £200 (Reverse side at top.)
Credit line
Given by Mrs Caro Rathbone
Summary
This costume design by Leslie Hurry for a Man with Beard in John Gardner's The Moon and Sixpence at Sadler's Wells Theatre in 1956.


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.1499-2014

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Record createdJuly 3, 2014
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