Not on display

Phèdre

Costume Design
1963 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Costume design by Leslie Hurry for the character Artemis in Racine's Phèdre, directed by Nicholas Garland for the Meadow Players Ltd, Arts Theatre, Cambridge, then Golder's Green Hippodrome, 1963.

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.

This production of Phèdre was first performed at the Arts Theatre, Cambridge, on 13 May 1963 and the following week from 20 May 1963 at the Golder's Green Hippodrome. This was during the period that the Oxford Playhouse (home of the Meadow Players) was closed and the Players presented a number of productions at the both the Arts Theatre, Cambridge and Golder's Green Hippodrome.

Object details

Category
Object type
TitlePhèdre (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Ink, pencil and crayon on paper
Brief description
Costume design by Leslie Hurry for the character Artemis in Racine's Phèdre, directed by Nicholas Garland for the Meadow Players Ltd, Arts Theatre, Cambridge, then Golder's Green Hippodrome, 1963
Physical description
Design by Leslie Hurry in ink, pencil and crayon on paper. The design is for a costume for the character Artemis in Racine's Phèdre, directed by Nicholas Garland for the Meadow Players Ltd, Arts Theatre, Cambridge, then Golder's Green Hippodrome, 1963. The design shows a woman wearing a long gold dress and tabard.
Dimensions
  • Height: 29cm
  • Width: 22.6cm
Marks and inscriptions
Artemis underdress [?] pleating. Tabard in tarnished gold or dark brown [?] net with gold threads massed in many places. Leslie Hurry signature (On front side in black ink)
Credit line
Given by Mrs Caro Rathbone
Literary referencePhèdre
Summary
Costume design by Leslie Hurry for the character Artemis in Racine's Phèdre, directed by Nicholas Garland for the Meadow Players Ltd, Arts Theatre, Cambridge, then Golder's Green Hippodrome, 1963.

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.

This production of Phèdre was first performed at the Arts Theatre, Cambridge, on 13 May 1963 and the following week from 20 May 1963 at the Golder's Green Hippodrome. This was during the period that the Oxford Playhouse (home of the Meadow Players) was closed and the Players presented a number of productions at the both the Arts Theatre, Cambridge and Golder's Green Hippodrome.
Collection
Accession number
S.2117-2014

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Record createdOctober 10, 2014
Record URL
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