Relief

Saville Theatre - Chester Players

Erection date: 1931

Site: Odeon (Saville) Theatre (5 memorials)

WC2, Shaftesbury Avenue, Odeon Covent Garden

The ‘Drama Through the Ages’ frieze is by Gilbert Bayes. The listing says "Bayes' frieze is one of the largest and most important works of public sculpture of its age, and won him the silver medal of the Institute of Sculptors for the best piece of applied sculpture of its year. It is 129 feet long and made from artificial stone."

At each end of the frieze, around the corners, there is a winged angel pulling back the curtain to reveal this cavalcade. Note also that the two plays chosen to begin and end the frieze are well-chosen. St Joan, a tragedy set in the medieval period, begins the procession and leads seamlessly into the Minstrels. Khaki, a comedy set in WW1, follows on naturally from the Twentieth Century.

Ornamental Passions has done a wonderful analysis of this complex frieze with a complete set of good photos (the traffic makes it very difficult to photograph). There are probably portraits of other actors but we can't identify any - let us know if you can.

Built in 1931 as the Saville Theatre, in a bold Art Deco style by Sir Thomas Bennett (who went on to design the Smithfield Poultry Market). The theatre was run by Brian Epstein from 1965 until his death in 1967 and it saw performances from some of the names of the time: Yoko Ono, Cream, Bee Gees, Rolling Stones, etc. and the Beatles filmed the “Hello, Goodbye” promo here (along with dancing girls in grass skirts). The theatre became an ABC cinema in 1970 and was taken over by Odeon in 2001. There is apparently little of the original interior left.

2018: The building is looking unloved - see the cracks in our photo for the Chester Players - and we noticed one section lower down on the building where a lump of stucco had been knocked off and not repaired. That old developers' trick of failing to maintain a building and then claiming it's so far gone that demolition is the only solution - that can't be happening here, surely.

2021: Camden rejected a planning appeal for conversion to a hotel. This would have gutted the interior and, of course, added floors on top.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Saville Theatre - Chester Players

Subjects commemorated i

Chester Players

The clergy encouraged the staging of mystery plays from around 1350.  Perform...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Saville Theatre - Chester Players

Created by i

Gilbert Bayes

Born 6 Oval Road, Camden Town. Also did the bronze group with clock at the en...

Read More

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Saville Theatre - Chester Players

Also at this site i

Saville Theatre - Holmes

Saville Theatre - Holmes

Ornamental Passions thinks this probably represents Tod Slaughter in the role...

Read More

Saville Theatre - Khaki

Saville Theatre - Khaki

This shows Ernie Lotinga in the play 'Khaki'.

Read More

Saville Theatre - Saint Joan

Saville Theatre - Saint Joan

George Bernard Shaw wrote his play Saint Joan with Thorndike in mind, and thi...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Infants Hospital - baby 2

Infants Hospital - baby 2

SW1, Udall Street

The two be-wreathed babies are on the building on the south-east side of the street, which was the 1914 nurses home; the others on the, p...

Jewish newspaper

Jewish newspaper

E1, Whitechapel High Street, Albert's, 88

The building's listing entry describes this sign, 1934-5 designed by Arthur Szyk: “a metal relief, painted gold and fixed to the wall. Th...

2 subjects commemorated
St John's Primary School - rebuilt

St John's Primary School - rebuilt

N5, Conewood Street, St John's Highbury Vale

Our research into the history of the school convinces us that the blank section of ribbon must have read "Christ Church" which was the sc...

1 subject commemorated
Broadway Palace development - Tooting - Industry

Broadway Palace development - Tooting - Industry

SW17, Mitcham Road, 22, (26, 28), 30, all on west side

This 1940-67 NLS map shows a 'picture theatre (disused)' at number 24 (now flat-fronted post-war shops), and at Cinema Treasures we found...

1 subject commemorated
St Antholin Church, demolished

St Antholin Church, demolished

EC4, Queen Victoria Street

Over recent years (2011) this church has acquired at least 3 modern plaques whose purpose is, we think, mainly to entice visitors inside ...

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator