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Marie Henderson, actress and manager of Elephant and Castle Theatre, 1875-1880
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Film still from Bedlam dance scene performed at the Coronet.
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Drawing of Faith, Hope and Charity - a Victorian melodrama with three murders, one suicide, two conflagrations, four robberies, one virtuous lawyer, 23 angels, and a ghost.
Exhibition
The Melodramatic Elephant in the Haunted Castle
9 Dec 2017 – 20 Dec 2017
Event times
Opening hours:
Saturday and Sunday 12.00-17.00
Monday to Friday 15.00-19.00
Cost of entry
Free
Address
- 155 Walworth Road
- Former Newington Library
- London
England - SE17 1RS
- United Kingdom
The Coronet in the Elephant and Castle will be closing its doors for the final time on New Year’s Day after 147 years. This exhibition poignantly dramatises the history of this building as a theatre, cinema and music venue with the Victorian actress of melodrama that once worked here.
About
Marie Henderson (1842-1882) was a melodramatic star of the Victorian stage and the Elephant and Castle theatre’s first female manager. She was reported as having gone mad when the theatre burnt down in 1878 and she lost all her costumes. Centre stage in the exhibition will be an installation of burnt clothing poignantly evoking her mental anguish and the catastrophic loss to her business. Archival displays about the history of the Coronet and the tradition of melodrama will be complimented by a series of large scale drawings and a 50 minute programme of short films.
The Melodramatic Elephant in the Haunted Castle is a unique collaboration between the People’s Company of Southwark Playhouse, Theatre director, John Whelan and multi- media artist, Constantine Gras, who has curated the exhibition. It also uniquely involved the input of Southwark residents who shared reminiscence of the Coronet and created set designs that are on display as theatre models.
This is an Arts Council England funded project supported by Southwark Playhouse and The Coronet. The exhibition involved the support of The Art Academy and CoolTan Arts.
