Drama Through the Ages, Odeon Cinema, Shaftesbury Avenue, London UK
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Team Sieni
N 51° 30.845 W 000° 07.691
30U E 699260 N 5710905
This frieze is called "Drama Through the Ages" and is by Gilbert Bayes. The building was originally the Saville Theatre and is now an Odeon cinema.
Waymark Code: WM663X
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/10/2009
Views: 11
This building opened as the Saville Theatre on 8th of October 1931 [1,2]. The frieze, entitled "Drama Through the Ages" is 129 feet in length and is by Gilbert Bayes.
Panels on the sculpture are entitled (L-R): St Joan; Minstrels; Chester Players; St George; Greek Chorus; Gladiators; Imperial Rome; Bacchanalia; Harlequinade; Romance; Twentieth Century; Khaki.
The uniformed figure of "Khaki" lurking in St Giles Passage, just around the corner from the Bacchanalia and the flappers of the Twentieth Century adds a sombre touch.
Gilbert Bayes (1872-1953) was a successful English sculptor. His works in London include statues on the Victoria and Albert Museum, and he also created the bronze doors of the New South Wales Art Gallery, Sydney, Australia.[3]
The cinema is rather confusingly called "The Odeon Covent Garden", despite being a good five or ten minutes walk away from Covent Garden!
References
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Cinema Treasures Odeon Covent Garden
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ArthurLloyd.co.uk Saville Theatre
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GlasgowSculpture.com Gilbert Bayes