LONDON WALK NO 111 – GROUP 3 – WIMBLEDON THEATRE TOUR & VILLAGE ORGANISED BY MARION CLARKE – Thursday 19th April 2018

Thursday 19th April 2018 dawned as a mini-heatwave. Thursday's high of 29.1˚c. was recorded at St James's Park in central London during the afternoon, making it the hottest UK day in April since 1949. Twenty members of the group gathered at Tonbridge Station, discussing mainly choice of clothing and shoes, and summer clothing still stored away. We caught the 9.31am train to Charing Cross and then walked down to Embankment and the Underground District Line to Wimbledon. We were joined in our carriage by two British Transport Police, and Jan joked with one about the amount of equipment they had to wear.

Arriving at Wimbledon, we only had a short walk to the theatre. Marion had previously warned us that time was tight, as we were expected at the theatre as near to 11am as possible. Our guide, Sherry Plant, was waiting to greet us, and had coffee/tea or orange juice waiting for us. After a quick visit to the loo, we gathered round to start our 90 minute guided tour, and to listen to Sherry’s charming and knowledgeable history of the New Wimbledon Theatre. Marion had collected the £10 cost from each of us at Tonbridge Station. There was no doubt how proud Sherry was to show off her theatre - She has worked on New Wimbledon Theatre's Stage Door for ten

years. She studied at Goldsmith's College and has a joint honours degree in English and Drama. As a professional actress she has toured the UK, appeared on television and in the West End. With a passion for the theatre, Sherry shared her wit and extensive knowledge on obscure facts, history and anecdotes spanning over a century.

The New Wimbledon is a late Edwardian Grade II listed building dating from 1910, and it is filled with marble, brass work and some lovely art-deco style stained glass windows. It was built by the theatre lover JB Mulholland and designed by Cecil Aubrey Masey, who was also the architect of the Phoenix Theatre in central London. Mulholland wanted people living outside central London to also have access to great theatres. The theatre opened on 26 December 1910 with the pantomime Jack & Jill. It appears to have been the only British theatre to

have included a Victorian-style Turkish bath in the basement. A series of ducts from the hot rooms were arranged connecting with gratings in the floors and walls of the theatre, so that in the event of the climate playing one of their sudden pranks with which it afflicts us, the temperature could be raised from 40 to 60 degrees in 15 minutes. Sherry wasn’t sure what happened to anyone using the baths at the time! The Theatre closed in 1938, and the Turkish bath remained closed when the theatre re-opened after the war. After the Turkish bath was

closed, it disappeared from view for over sixty years—part closed off and part, including the plunge pool, boarded over. In June 2001, Steve Sotiriou took over what was a rather depressing wine bar and, with the help of a conservation grant and an extremely sympathetic architect, restored most of what remained of the original Turkish baths, turning it into Bar Sia, an attractive bar and music venue. Working on this unique conversion must have been an exciting project leading, as it sometimes did, to unexpected discoveries.

Originally thought to be available for actors and theatre staff to relax or de-stress, the bar owners made this interesting observation -

The Bar Sia closed in 2012 though the premises themselves were still in use in 2013. Sherry led us out to the Stage Door entrance where the Security locks were stored and details of the Explosive Protection Store located substage. We passed the dressing rooms, marked up with names of theatres and previous stars listed underneath. Though quite stark, some had showers, and others

connecting doors if family wanted to join the stars. Then we went through a corridor with a very special mural, painted bit-by-bit by a young flyman in the 60s and 70s to commemorate every show he worked on, starting with Gala Opening Night in 1968.

We could have stayed there much longer, reviewing the various shows, and the variety. A notice on one of the toilets showed that somebody had a good sense of humour, although the grammar left a bit to be desired.

'We just drilled a hole in the wooden floor, and saw the plunge pool underneath”

"The absence of a women's toilet indicates that it was intended for use only by the male actors and theatre staff."

We moved on through narrow corridors and then out onto the stage. Sherry had organised it so that we got to experience this part of the tour, as the technicians were due to start preparing for a show, when we would have to leave. The view looking out into the auditorium was spectacular. Three layers of seating – Stalls, where the legroom looked amazing, the Dress Circle, and the Upper Circle.

Sherry pointed out the wonderful architecture, talked about the boxes, and mentioned that the language of the theatre originally came from seamen – the Crew, the Rigs, etc. All along the side of the stage were ropes to raise and lower the scenery. The theatre is full of nautical terminology as backstage ‘crew’ were traditionally sailors – they had the muscle to shift sets around, were used to pulling ropes and handy with blocks and tackles! Many theatrical superstitions derive from maritime traditions as well. She commented on the shape of the Stalls seating and told us that originally the theatre seated 3,000 people, but now still catered for 1,670. The front few rows are in a curve, and used to be where the orchestra were seated. Nowadays they are housed in an area under the stage, as the trap doors are no longer used because of Health & Safety.

We moved up into the Dress Circle, watching the technicians sorting out the racks of lighting that they had lowered down to the stage. Sherry continued to recount the history of the theatre, and pointed out that the main auditorium is adjoined by the smaller black box space of the New Wimbledon Studio, a flexible space seating up to 80 people. It is often home to small drama and comedy productions. On the way to the rear of the Dress Circle, we took a peek into the small Guest Room, for private gatherings.

The art deco style stained glass windows at the back of the Dress Circle were superb leading us into the Piano Bar. Sporting a baby grand piano, providing a great range of cocktails, and an open view across Wimbledon from the verandah, we could have stayed a while! The old radiators formed a couple of interesting features in the room.

Leaving the comfort of the Bar, and with Sherry’s warning ringing in our ears, we set off for the climb up to the Gallery seating. We had been told about the height, and several of us were more than a bit apprehensive. As we climbed the corridor stairs higher and higher, there were pictures of past shows to keep us occupied. I had made up my mind to give it a go, inspite of my vertigo, but I was happy to find that I could walk down the

theatre steps at the far right along the wall, not down the middle of the vertical seating! I shot into a seat at the front, and only then realised how high we still were – and that there was a wrought iron railing full of holes in front of me. Marion and I stared resolutely at each other until we could move out again. Happily making our way down and back along the road, before going into the Foyer, Sherry took our group photo on the steps.

With several refurbishments, most notably in 1991 and 1998, the theatre retains its baroque and Adamesque internal features. Its external features can be seen from across the landscape. The golden statue atop the dome is Laetitia, the Roman Goddess of Gaiety (although many refer to her as the theatre's "angel") and was an original fixture back in 1910. Laetitia is holding a laurel crown as a symbol of celebration. The statue was removed in World War II as it was thought to be a direction finding device for German bombers, and replaced in 1991. The theatre has played host to a large variety of major touring productions, plus the UK launch of Josef Weinberger's UK collection of Disney musicals available to amateur companies throughout the British Isles. In 2010 the national tour of Spamalot, the musical based on the film Monty Python and the

Holy Grail, opened at the New Wimbledon. The theatre now produces some of the best shows in the world, and is known as the ‘Home of London Pantomime’. Leaving the theatre, we walked a few steps to the bus stop and caught the 93 bus to Wimbledon Village, where we were to have lunch. It was hot, and busy, so the short journey was very welcome. Splitting up, we headed for the various dining areas pointed out by Marion – two pubs, Carluccio’s, and several smaller cafés. A few people had bought sandwiches, and made their way to Wimbledon Common. (I forgot to ask if anybody saw any Wombles!). An interesting delicatessen, Bayley & Sage, had been spotted by Marion and her husband when doing the recce, so most of us ended up meeting there before gathering at the bus stop for the journey back to Wimbledon Station. Amazing varieties of vegetables, sumptuous cakes, smelly cheeses, and jars full of all sorts kept us roaming round for quite a while.

We reversed our train journeys, and had an uneventful, but still hot, trip back to Tonbridge. A big thank you to Marion for organising such an interesting and fun day out, and to Richard for helping out with the planning. Jean, we missed you.