About Sadler's Wells
4 shows on now · From £18 · See shows
The theatre on Rosebery Avenue today opened in October 1998, rebuilt as a dance theatre inside parts of the 1931 building, and it's the sixth theatre on the site. It's run by Sadler's Wells, a charity that also runs the Peacock Theatre in the West End, the Lilian Baylis Studio in this building and Sadler's Wells East in Stratford. The building is Grade II listed.
How did Sadler's Wells get its name?
From a well. In 1683 Richard Sadler found a mineral spring in the grounds of his music house, and people came for its healing waters and stayed for the entertainment. The remains of the old wells are still there, under the floor at the back of the Stalls.
What is Sadler's Wells' history?
Over the next two centuries the site staged Shakespeare, opera, the clown Grimaldi, and water spectacles with sea battles in a tank. By 1915 it had closed and fallen derelict. Lilian Baylis, who ran the Old Vic, raised the money to rebuild it, and the new theatre opened on 6 January 1931 with John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson in Twelfth Night.
Ninette de Valois's ballet company grew up here and became The Royal Ballet, its touring company became Birmingham Royal Ballet, and the opera company became English National Opera. Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes had its premiere here in 1945.
The building was rebuilt in the 1990s as a purpose-built dance theatre, with a bigger stage and more seats. While the work went on, the company moved its shows to the Peacock Theatre, and it has programmed both ever since. Today it produces as well as presents, and creates more new dance than any other organisation in the world, by its own count.
Notable past productions
Matthew Bourne's New Adventures has a Christmas season here every year.
- The Car Man (2026), Matthew Bourne's summer season
- The Red Shoes (2025 to 2026), Matthew Bourne's Christmas season
- Cinderella (2017 to 2018), Matthew Bourne's Blitz-era version, which returns for Christmas 2026
- Peter Grimes (1945), the premiere of Britten's opera
- Twelfth Night (1931), the opening production of the rebuilt theatre, with John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson
The Lilian Baylis Studio
A 180-seat studio in the same building, for smaller dance: new choreographers, experimental work and shows made for young audiences. It has no cloakroom of its own.
Other venues to know
- Peacock Theatre, Sadler's Wells' sister theatre in the West End, about 1,000 seats on Portugal Street near Holborn, and home of The Snowman at Christmas
- Palace Theatre, 1,434 seats on Shaftesbury Avenue at Cambridge Circus
- Victoria Palace Theatre, 1,557 seats on Victoria Street, opposite Victoria station
- Prince Edward Theatre, 1,674 seats on Old Compton Street in Soho
About FAQs
What happened to the Sadler's Wells Ballet?
It became The Royal Ballet. Ninette de Valois's company started here and grew into the national ballet company, and its touring company became Birmingham Royal Ballet.
When was Sadler's Wells built?
The present theatre opened in October 1998. It's the sixth on a site that has been a place of entertainment since 1683, and it keeps parts of the 1931 theatre inside it.