Not on display

Phèdre

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

Set design by Leslie Hurry for 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, watercolour, pencil and crayon on paper
Brief description
Set design by Leslie Hurry for 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, watercolour and crayon on paper with pencil annotation. The design is for a set for Racine's Phèdre, directed by Nicholas Garland for the Meadow Players Ltd, Arts Theatre, Cambridge, then Golder's Green Hippodrome, 1963. The design shows stone steps approaching a large, round stone pillar. The background is divided into squares which are coloured orange, red, blue, green and yellow.
Dimensions
  • Height: 29.1cm
  • Width: 38.1cm
Marks and inscriptions
Phedre Ph. Hip [Theseus?] [wife?] [?] [?] (On reverse side in pencil)
Credit line
Given by Mrs Caro Rathbone
Literary referencePhèdre
Summary
Set design by Leslie Hurry for 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.2120-2014

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Record createdOctober 10, 2014
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