Arts

The old 'Old Vic'

A. C. Cook Whit Monday, II May, 1818, was a momentous day for the residents of South London, „for where the Lower Marsh joins the Waterloo Road a new theatre designed by RUdolph Cabanel was to be opened: The 0Yal Coburg. Prince Leopold and Princess '-harlotte of Saxe Coburg Gotha after w, horn the new theatre was named had 'leaded the list of subscribers, although there is no record they ever attended a Derformance at the theatre and it is extrern– eiy unlikely they ever did. The opening erformance comprised a Harlequinade, a Liricl melodrama entitled Trial by Battle, and concluded with a ballet. For many Years it was renowned for its melodramas, 1)kften of a sensational nature, but among e""e famous theatrical personalities of that ,44 °lily Edmund Kean seems to have t"DDeared at the theatre, which soon reverted °the more popular type of music-hall eRtertainment. This became such a debased and dissolute jPe of entertainment, matching the rowdy 'patron 'patron

, age it enjoyed, that the theatre closed

:nu Was finally' sold in early 1880. While -1,tY, its name was changed to the Royal ct°ria Theatre to eradicate past associn"cms. It did, however, possess one great r",,°„veltY; a curtain made of mirrors that "ected every facet of the auditorium. wht-ittle is known of Miss Emma Cons, to 0;1°41 so much is owed, but we do know I at she was the first woman to be elected w° the London County Council, that she js an estate manager and fully conversant abith the worst of London's slumland, and th°ve all, in view of later events, possibly foe greatest of all our women social re fliers Drunkenness Drunkenness and all its associated tol's were matters with which she was all ,;() famihar. With a view to combating the VI Palaces and ale houses, she initiated k,;th a few friends, who later were to be topn as the 'Coffee Tavern Association, oftree taverns (conceivably the forerunner or present-day tea shops and cafes) Thllere no alcoholic drinks were obtainable. in,e.se became so successful that private Q04Ividuals soon copied the idea, but Miss M?: had achieved her objective. tion "day mornings saw a constant repetihe: of women with black eyes after being a I.-it" UP by their husbands who had spent It ft°1-Is Saturday night at the music hall. tli'vas both a challenge and a problem, and Soils Cons, well known in the streets of t,,th London, had the answer : if coffee cans had been so successful, why not Mee had

Music Halls?

tion tss Cons and her friends in the Associaly thaequired the lease of what was originale &Oa/ Coburg but in deference to the

reigning Queen was now called the Royal Victoria Theatre, and decided on a kind of music hall to which all the family could go but with one innovation: a large refreshment room in which wholesome meals were available at prices any family could afford, but with no alcoholic liquor on sale. On Boxing Day, 1880, the theatre was reopened as a temperance music hall, but now called the Royal Victoria Coffee Tavern Music Hall.

Its large dining or refreshment room (old prints of this room are in existence), where families could enjoy a good meal cheaply with a night of entertainment, so endeared itself to the people of south London that they no longer called it the Royal Victoria Coffee Tavern Music Hall, but in t heir own affectionate way t he Old Vic.

The programmes were made up of Shakespearian readings, with other vocal and instrumental performances. In 1900 Michael Balfe's opera The Bohemian Girl was the first opera to be produced at the new music hall.

The management of the theatre was too big a burden on Miss Cons to continue unaided, and she thought of her sister Elizabeth (Liebe), a singer and pianist who had married a fellow singer named Newton Baylis, by whom she had a daughter. The daughter received a musical education and was an accomplished violinist. As the result of an accident when swimming in South Africa—she gashed her face on the rocks— a slight facial scarring inhibited her from performing in public. A love of opera stayed with her, however, that was to be reflected in her life's work. The daughter's christian name was Lilian.

Lilian Baylis, born in 1874, went to South Africa with her parents when she was sixteen, and it was in Africa that she received her aunt's invitation to join her. In 1912 she took over the complete management of the theatre and before that date the name of the Old Vic had become the theatre's official name at Lilian Baylis's instigation.

The problem that was to be ever present soon became apparent : lack of funds. The Bioscope, a novelty in music halls and variety theatres, was introduced as Penny

Pictures. This innovation proved successful and profitable, the proceeds being used to subsidise other more expensive projects. The new-style music hall met with some opposition but rowdyism was put down by Miss Cons, for Miss Cons—inseparable from her umbrella—could be a formidable figure.

At the turn of the century we were very much dependent on touring companies for both opera and Shakespeare. The Royal Carl Rosa Opera Company was the best known operatic company and Sir Ben Greet's the Shakespearian. The Royal Carl Rosa Opera Company was the first to produce La Boheme in England at Manchester on 22 October, 1897, under the title of The Bohemians. One of the last performances of the Company as such, was at the King's Theatre, Hammersmith : the opera, Madama Butterfly, with Eva Turner in the title role, Henry Wendon (tenor) as Pinkerton and Booth Hitchin (baritone) as Sharpless. Sir Ben Greet was well known and admired on both sides of the Atlantic.

In those far-off days there was no such thing as an Arts Council and suddenly both the Royal Carl Rosa Opera Company and Sir Ben Greet's Shakespearian Company disappeared. Touring companies were never an economic or viable proposition, despite double prices paid for admission : a seat in the gallery could cost as much as a shilling.

Lilian Baylis provided a permanent home for both these companies, as Carl Rosa and Sir Ben Greet were both appointed to the Board of Governors, while Henry Wendon and Booth Hitchin featured prominently In Old Vic productions. Eva Turner did not. In her place was a very popular soprano, Joan Cross, who later pioneered the English Opera Group. Charles Corn i was the musical director for over thirty years; Charles Godfrey was conductor for an equally long time.

Under Lilian Baylis, all Shakespeare's plays were produced from The Taming of the Shrew in 1914 to Troilus and Cressida in 1923. Hamlet was the second play produced, and several times in its entirety—but then only at matinees, owing to its length.

The 1920s were undoubtedly the most formative years in the history of the Old Vic. Its fame had spread far from the narrow confines of south London as a direct result of the excellence of its productions. Dame Sybil Thorndike and her brother Russell had contributed largely to this, as well as Sir John Gielgud. A situation now existed where the theatre was no longer able to accommodate an ever-increasing public. It was obvious then that another theatre was vitally necessary, so that Shakespeare could be performed in one and opera in the other. Here, again, Lilian Baylis was faced in far more daunting forms with the constant problem of money for such a venture.

Apart from the financial aspect, the choice fell between two derelict theatres: The Surrey Theatre, once The Royal Circus, in St George's Circus, SEI, and Sadler's Wells in Islington. One way of raising funds was to form the regular patrons into an independent group called The Old Vic Circle (not to be confused with that part of the auditorium). Membership brought special privileges, like being allowed backstage to meet the cast after a first night performance. Despite all setbacks, Sadler's Wells came into being in 1931.

Opera and Shakespeare each possessing its own theatre, there yet remained one theatrical art form to be explored: ballet. Under the direction of Ninette de Valois and conducted by Constant Lambert, ballet proved an instantaneous and unprecedented success. Lilian Baylis died in 1937, far too soon to see the ultimate recognition of her work with Sadler's Wells Ballet properly honoured, s it so richly deserved, by becoming The Royal Ballet. The public demand for Sadler's Wells opera productions was so great that an even larger theatre had to be acquired, situated in the very heart of London's theatreland, which no doubt will prove to be its permanent home.

Practically all the great personalities of our present-day theatre have appeared at the Old Vic; indeed many learned their skills there and subsequently have been honoured, as opposed to the one name that emerges from The Royal Coburg—Emma Cons. Today one is inclined to take The Royal Ballet, The National Theatre (which has just taken over the role of the Old Vic) and Sadler's Wells Opera Company for granted, but it is salutary to trace the roots

back to the courage and vision of two women who in the beginning made it all possible: Miss Emma Cons, and Miss Lilian Baylis, CH.