1940 – Premiere of Ninette de Valois’ The Prospect Before Us by the Vic-Wells Ballet

In July 1940, Ninette de Valois created a comedy character ballet called The Prospect Before Us. Full of wit and finely drawn characterisations, it required a full range of acting, as well as dancing skills. Set in 1789, the ballet charted the rivalries of two London theatre managers, both of whose theatres were eventually razed to the ground by fire. The complicated scenario was based on episodes from John Ebers’ Seven Years of the King’s Theatre. The music was by William Boyce, arranged by Constant Lambert. The décor and costumes, by Roger Furse, were inspired by the drawings of the rumbustious Georgian satirist Thomas Rowlandson. The ballet offered plenty of opportunities for the cast to hone their comedy skills, and to give brief moments of relief from what was to become another five years of war.

The original cast included Robert Helpmann and Pamela May