{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1301574"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1301574/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2014HH0146/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2014HH0146/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2014HH0146","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1301574","accessionNumber":"S.2125-2014","objectType":"Set design","titles":[{"title":"The Living Room","type":"assigned by artist"}],"summaryDescription":"Preliminary set design by Leslie Hurry for Graham Greene's <i>The Living Room,</i> directed by Peter Glenville at Wyndham's Theatre, London, 1953.\r\n\nLeslie Hurry (1909-1978) trained at the Royal Academy and during the 1930s became known as a surrealist painter. A one-man show in London in 1942 was seen by the theatre director, Michael Benthall, who recommended Hurry to the dancer and choreographer, Robert Helpmann, then planning a ballet based on Shakespeare's <i>Hamlet</i>.  The success of his designs set Hurry on a second career as one of the most distinguished theatre designers of his generation.  He designed operas, ballets and plays, notably <i>Swan Lake</i> for the Sadler's Wells Ballet in 1943, a production which stayed in the repertoire for thirty years; <i>Venice Preserv'd</i> for Peter Brook (1953); the Ring Cycle at Covent Garden (1954), and <i>Troilus and Cressida</i> at Stratford for Peter Hall (1960), famous for being staged in a sand pit.\r\n\r\nThis production of Graham Greene's <i>The Living Room</i>opened at Wyndham’s Theatre, London on 16 April 1953. The set was built by Brunskill and Loveday and painted by Alick Johnstone. Michael Northern assisted with technical advice. This disturbing play had a single set described in <i>Theatre World</i> May 1953 as ‘grimly effective décor, which most cleverly sets the mood for the play’. The critic J. W Lambert confirmed this claiming that ‘Leslie Hurry’s set once for all fixes the tone of death-in-life, stuffiness, and careful improvisation; a tall narrow window reminds us always of church’. Later Ray Ingram wrote that ‘To evoke the disturbing oddness required by Graham Green’s Living Room, he [Hurry] subtly distorted the proportions of the suburban architecture and employed gauze for the walls, one of the first designers to use this technique on the London stage.’ The production was photographed by Angus McBean.\r\n","physicalDescription":"Design by Leslie Hurry in ink, crayon, watercolour, pencil and gouache on paper with ink and pencil annotation. This preliminary design is for a set for Graham Greene's <i>The Living Room,</i> at the Wyndham's Theatre, London, 1953. The design shows an unfinished image of a living room, including a table with a blue cloth and low-hanging ceiling lamp. The walls are coloured yellow-green.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Hurry, Leslie","id":"A9404"},"association":{"text":"designer","id":"AAT25681"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Wyndham's Theatre","id":"AUTH333079"},"association":{"text":"producer","id":"AAT197742"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"ink","id":"AAT15012"},{"text":"paper","id":"x30308"},{"text":"crayon","id":"x30605"},{"text":"watercolour","id":"x33202"},{"text":"pencil","id":"x30347"},{"text":"gouache","id":"AAT70114"}],"techniques":[{"text":"drawing (image-making)","id":"AAT54196"},{"text":"painting (image-making)","id":"AAT54216"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Crayon, watercolour, gouache, ink and pencil on paper","categories":[{"text":"Entertainment & Leisure","id":"THES48959"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&P","id":"THES48602"},"images":["2014HH0146"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"009","id":"THES356600"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Preliminary set design","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Great Britain","id":"x32019"},"association":{"text":"drawn","id":"x30545"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1953","earliest":"1953-01-01","latest":"1953-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by Mrs Caro Rathbone","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"17.3","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"25.3","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"V","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"On front side in purple ink"},{"content":"Rough B\r\n2 Sketch","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"On reverse side in pencil and green ink"}],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Preliminary set design by Leslie Hurry for Graham Greene's <i>The Living Room,</i> directed by Peter Glenville at Wyndham's Theatre, London, 1953","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":["The Living Room"],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["S.2125-2014"],"accessionNumberNum":"2125","accessionNumberPrefix":"S","accessionYear":2014,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-16","recordCreationDate":"2014-10-10","availableToBook":true}}