M343 Design for a theatre for Margaret Morris, Chelsea, London

Background

This unrealised design for a small theatre was commissioned in 1920 by pioneering dancer and teacher, Margaret Morris, whose Chelsea theatre club Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald frequented. 1 It is known through two sheets of drawings and a number of entries in Mackintosh's 1920 diary, and is mentioned in Margaret Morris's 1974 biography of J. D. Fergusson. 2

The Theatre was one of several architectural commissions Mackintosh worked on in the years 1919–21, all intended to stand on the Glebe of Chelsea, an area of land owned by the church. 3 The other projects – almost entirely unrealised – were a block of studios and studio-flats for the Arts League of Service, a second studio block for the League in Glebe Place, a studio-house for Harold Squire, a studio-house for Arthur Cadogan Blunt and a building containing studios for Francis Derwent Wood. These studio buildings were all intended for a large site between Oakley Street, Glebe Place and Upper Cheyne Row, and it is likely that the Theatre was meant for part of the same site too.

According to Mackintosh's diary, discussions with Margaret Morris began in early June. By 17 June plans had been drawn up in preparation for a meeting with the Glebe Surveyor, W. E. Clifton. A second meeting followed in late August, where the designs for the theatre and for one of the studio blocks were discussed. 4 On 1 September Clifton informed Mackintosh that 'both Archdeacon Bevan and the Earl of Cadogan's agent object to both the studio block and the theatre block as unsuitable buildings for this locality'. 5 In mid December, Mackintosh recorded in his diary that planning consent for the block of studios had been 'provisionally approved', but he made no mention of the theatre, and ultimately the project was abandoned. 6

Drawings

The drawings, in pen and watercolour with alterations in pencil, appear to have been made for presentation. 7 Materials are not specified, and there is little indication of interior treatment. They are signed by Mackintosh, but the draughtsmanship and style of lettering suggest they were by another hand. Mackintosh is known to have employed at least one draughtsman in 1920, Paul Hudson, to prepare drawings for Harold Squire's studio. 8

What may be a preliminary sketch plan and section of the theatre appear in Mackintosh's 'Sketcher's Notebook'; the basic shape of the auditorium is very similar to the later design. 9

Exterior

The low central entrance is set between two octagonal towers with hemispherical domes. Rising behind it are the higher, roughly cubic shapes of the auditorium and fly tower. The massive, blocky character of the windowless entrance front recalls Josef Maria Olbrich's 1897–8 Secession building in Vienna, where Mackintosh had exhibited in 1900. 10 The distinctive stepped architrave around the entrance can be likened to work by Czech architect Jan Kotěra, particularly his pavilion for the Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the 1908 Jubilee Exhibition in Prague. 11

Interior

The theatre was designed to seat 470: 440 in the egg-shaped auditorium and a further 30 in the five boxes above. Its form recalls to some extent the round auditorium of Mackintosh's unrealised design for a concert hall for the 1901 Glasgow International Exhibition. 12 Unlike the platform in the concert hall design, which was inside the auditorium space, the theatre stage was conventionally separated from the audience by a proscenium arch. 13 To either side of the ground-floor were circular lounges, expressed externally by the domed towers, and behind them, long, narrow lounges along both side elevations, each with curved end walls. The basement comprised a large rehearsal room, dressing rooms, storage spaces and services. A large foyer, balconies and additional dressing rooms were located on the first floor, with a 'cinematograph box' above the foyer. The curved internal walls suggest that Mackintosh intended to build in concrete.

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