Mercury_Theatre_-_Ladbroke_Road_Notting_Hill_Gate_London_W11_3BY

The Mercury Theatre was a small theatre on Ladbroke Road,

Notting Hill Gate Notting Hill Gate is one of the main thoroughfares in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in Inner London. Historically the street was a location for Tollbooth, toll gates, from which it derives its modern name. Location At Ossingto ...

, London, notable for the productions of poetic dramas between 1933 and 1956, and as the home of the

Ballet Rambert Rambert (known as Rambert Dance Company before 2014) is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it exerted a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingd ...

until 1987.

History (founding)

The Mercury Theatre was opened in 1933 by Ashley Dukes for the production of new drama and to serve as a centre for the

, run by his wife

Marie Rambert Dame Marie Rambert DBE (born Cyvia Rambam; 20 February 188812 June 1982) was a Polish-born English dancer and pedagogue who exerted great influence on British ballet, both as a dancer and teacher. Early years and background Born to a liberal ...

. The building, at 2, Ladbroke Road, London W11, had been built in 1851 as a Sunday school for the adjacent

Congregational Chapel Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently an ...

, but was extensively altered to serve as a theatre.British History Online
/ref> It was a well-equipped but small venue, seating about 150.

Productions

The style was set by the first production, ''Jupiter Translated'', an adaptation of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

's ''

Amphitryon Amphitryon (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιτρύων, ''gen''.: Ἀμφιτρύωνος; usually interpreted as "harassing either side", Latin: Amphitruo), in Greek mythology, was a son of Alcaeus, king of Tiryns in Argolis. His mother was named ...

'' by Walter James Turner with a ballet by

Rupert Doone Rupert Doone (born Reginald Woodfield, 14 August 1903 – 4 March 1966) was a British dancer, choreographer, theatre director, and teacher in London. Biography Doone was born in Redditch, Worcestershire, from a Worcestershire family in reduced ...

as ''

entr'acte (or , ;Since 1932–35 the recommends this spelling, with no apostrophe, so historical, ceremonial and traditional uses (such as the 1924 René Clair film title) are still spelled . and ', , and ) means 'between the acts'. It can mean a pau ...

''.

Vladimir Rosing Vladimir Sergeyevich Rosing () (November 24, 1963), also known as Val Rosing, was a Russian-born operatic tenor and stage director who spent most of his professional career in the United Kingdom and the United States. In his formative years he ex ...

's ''British Opera Group'' was in residence for several weeks in June 1935. The theatre's reputation was further established in 1935 by the first London productions of

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

's ''

Murder in the Cathedral ''Murder in the Cathedral'' is a verse drama by T. S. Eliot, first performed in 1935 (published the same year). The play portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral during the reign of Henry II in 1170. El ...

'', transferred from Canterbury, and two years later by

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, ...

and

Christopher Isherwood Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (26 August 1904 – 4 January 1986) was an Anglo-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. His best-known works include '' Goodbye to Berlin'' (1939), a semi-autobiographical ...

's collaborative poetic play ''

The Ascent of F6 ''The Ascent of F6: A Tragedy in Two Acts'', by W. H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood, was the second and most successful play in the Auden–Isherwood collaboration, first published in 1936. It was a major contribution to English poetic drama in ...

''. 1943 saw the production of

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

's ''Days Without End''. The Pilgrim Players' seasons in 1945–1947, under the direction of E. Martin Browne, consolidated the position of poetic drama at the Mercury with such productions as

Norman Nicholson Norman Cornthwaite Nicholson (8 January 1914 – 30 May 1987) was an English writer. Although he is now known chiefly for his poetry, Nicholson also wrote in many other forms: novels, plays, essays, topography and criticism. Biography Nich ...

's ''The Old Man of the Mountains'',

Ronald Duncan Ronald Frederick Henry Duncan (6 August 1914 – 3 June 1982) was an English writer, poet and playwright of German descent, now best known for his poem ''The Horse (poem), The Horse'' and for preparing the libretto for Benjamin Britten's opera ' ...

's ''This Way to the Tomb'', Florida Scott-Maxwell's experimental ''I Said to Myself'',{{cite journal, date=3 July 1947, title=Classified Advertising: Theatre, journal=

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

, location=London, issue=50803, pages=10 and

Anne Ridler Anne Barbara Ridler OBE (née Bradby) (30 July 1912 – 15 October 2001) was a British poet and Faber and Faber editor, selecting the Faber ''A Little Book of Modern Verse'' with T. S. Eliot (1941). Her ''Collected Poems'' (Carcanet Press) w ...

's ''The Shadow Factory''. These were followed by comedies in verse:

Christopher Fry Christopher Fry (18 December 1907 – 30 June 2005) was an English poet and playwright. He is best known for his verse dramas, especially '' The Lady's Not for Burning'', which made him a major force in theatre in the 1940s and 1950s. Biograp ...

's '' A Phoenix Too Frequent'' and

Donagh MacDonagh Donagh MacDonagh (22 November 1912 – 1 January 1968) was an Irish writer, judge, presenter, broadcaster, and playwright. Early life and education MacDonagh was born in Dublin on St Cecilia's Day in 1912. He was still a young child when his f ...

's ''Happy as Larry''. In 1947

William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...

's ''The Beautiful People'' and O'Neill's ''SS Glencairn'' both had their London premières there, as did

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; ; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels '' The Th ...

's ''

The Maids ''The Maids'' ( ) is a 1947 play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. It was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris in a production that opened on 17 April 1947, which Louis Jouvet directed. The play has been revived in Fr ...

''. In the early 1950s it was home to "Ballet Workshop" and from 1956 was used mainly by the Ballet Rambert School until finally closed in 1987. The theatre and the Ballet Rambert appear in

Powell and Pressburger The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell (1905–1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902–1988)—together often known as The Archers, the name of their production company—made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. T ...

's 1948 film '' The Red Shoes''. In the film (now available on DVD etc.) the exterior of the Mercury Theatre can be seen indicated by a sign which also has a poster announcing the Rambert Ballet. Today the building is distinguished by a small bronze figure of Mercury mounted on the east end of the roof and

commemorative plaques A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, bearing text or an image in relief, or both, ...

for both the theatre and the ballet company.

References

External links

Historical photographs
from The Ladbroke Association Theatres in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Ballet venues in the United Kingdom