Stuart Stanley and his set design models
Our Summer Exhibition in the gallery is quite a treat this year. We have the honour of hosting a retrospective of the work of STUART STANLEY, the Head of Design at the famous Thorndike Theatre, Leatherhead, back in its heyday. It's a collaboration with The Leatherhead Theatre who still hold a substantial archive of photographs, playbills and programmes from the Thorndike.
Stuart with curator, Cathy
Stuart created amazing stage sets and costumes for plays, musicals and pantomimes at the Thorndike between 1974 and 1986, many of which transferred to the West End and starred some of the biggest names of the British stage and screen.
The tiny gallery was buzzing with excited chatter on Friday evening
We launched Stuart's show with a Private View for invited guests on the Friday evening, then opened to the public on Saturday 22nd July. The weather had been unpredictable all through the previous week, but Friday evening was dry and warm, and the museum's garden and gallery were full of lively chatter and theatre reunions.
Stuart Stanley and Cathy (curator) with Tim Caffell (Leatherhead Theatre Manager) and 'Steve the Archivist'
The museum's curatorial team have created an innovative display that includes several of Stuart's stage set models, with the opportunity for visitors to create their own lighting designs with LED torches! There are many of Stuart's costume design and technical drawings, together with original programmes and photographs of the productions (provided by the Leatherhead Theatre archivist, Steve). You can find out a bit about the rich history of dramatic arts in our town, too, with evidence of performance back into the early 18th century.
The exhibition will transfer to the Leatherhead Theatre in December.
Thank you to Auriel Glanville and Robin Christian for the photographs.