Sadler's Wells
/ About
Sadler's Wells has stood on Rosebery Avenue since 1683, when Richard Sadler found a mineral spring in the grounds of his music house and audiences came for the water. They stayed for the entertainment, and six theatres have occupied the site since. Lilian Baylis took charge in 1925 and put dance on the programme; The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and English National Opera all began here. The current building opened in 1998, purpose-built for dance around a 1,500-seat auditorium, three rehearsal studios and a smaller studio theatre carrying Baylis's name.
Eight spaces in the Angel building are available for private hire, from a twelve-person boardroom to the auditorium itself. The Mezzanine is the level most often taken whole, an open-plan floor with the feel of a contemporary gallery that holds 280 for a reception or 120 at table, with a steel bar etched with the theatre's facade and two break-out rooms within it. The Lilian Baylis Studio is the room to know: raked seating that retracts at the touch of a button, leaving a flat, blank floor for a dinner or a party, three dressing rooms behind it and technicians who never leave the building. Below, three sprung-floor studios with mirror walls and barres take rehearsals, castings and classes.
The house runs events on its own staff. An events team holds the diary, technicians handle sound and lighting, and a kitchen caters from the building; outside caterers are not taken. The event spaces have integrated AV, air conditioning and daylight, the whole building is step-free, and get-in runs through the stage door. Angel station is a few minutes' walk. Clients have included fashion houses, broadcasters and professional-services firms, and hiring the building supports the Sadler's Wells Trust.
/ Rooms Available
Sadler's Wells Theatre
Exclusive HireThe main auditorium, tiered across stalls and two circles and seating 1,500. It works with the building's full theatre technology, from computer-controlled flying to the in-house sound and lighting rig, and hire includes dressing rooms. Foyer and reception spaces on each level serve as breakout, catering and entertaining areas.
The Mezzanine
PrivateA light, open-plan level with the feel of a contemporary gallery, running to 241 square metres and taking 280 for a reception or 120 seated. The floor takes in the Dorfman Room, a bar counter clad in an etching of the theatre's facade, the Falk Room and the Pina Bausch Room, so a party can spread across the whole level or use the smaller rooms as break-outs and a cloakroom.
Lilian Baylis Studio
PrivateThe studio theatre, and the most adaptable room in the building. Raked seating for 180 retracts at the touch of a button to leave a flat, blank floor for a reception or a cabaret set for 100. Three dressing rooms sit behind it and a team of technicians manages the space throughout. The first and second circles can be used for catering, and the Fox Garden Court Cafe alongside takes arrival drinks.
The Dorfman Room
PrivateThe building's main conference and dining room, 120 square metres with a modern industrial feel, generous daylight and integrated AV. It flexes from a boardroom of 30 through a cabaret of 64 to a seated dinner of 80 or a reception of 180, with a private catering area alongside.
Studio A, B and C
PrivateThree dance studios on the lower floors, the largest 239 square metres and the other two 115 each. All have Harlequin sprung floors, ballet barres, mirror walls, daylight, a sound system and an upright piano, with changing rooms and showers alongside and step-free access through the stage door lift. They hire for rehearsals, castings and classes, and take 50 standing.
The Kahn
PrivateA 33 square metre room off the Mezzanine with daylight, air conditioning and integrated AV. It suits a boardroom of 20, a U-shape of 24, a screening or seminar for 40, or a private reception for 50.
Pina Bausch Room
PrivateA bright 33 square metre room with plenty of natural light, adjustable lighting and integrated AV, and its own private entrance into the auditorium. It takes a boardroom of 20, a dinner of 15 or a reception of 40, which makes it the room to use for a pre-show drink before an event moves next door.
Teneisha Bonner & Cripplegate
PrivateTwo small rooms taking twelve boardroom-style, used for close meetings, focus groups or as an office base during a larger event across the building. Both carry full AV.
/ Perfect For
/ Features
AV Equipment
- – Sound System
- – PA System
- – Stage
- – Projector
- – Lighting Rig
- – Microphone
Catering
- – In-House Luxury Dining
- – Canape Service
Licensing
- – Full Alcohol Licence
- – Music Licence
Venue Specs
- – Dedicated Events Team
- – Air Conditioned
- – Wi-Fi
- – Wheelchair Accessible
- – Cloakroom
- – Green Room
- – Load-In Access
/ Getting Here
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