We’re celebrating the 25th anniversary of Sadler’s Wells Theatre in Angel, Islington, this October. Sadler’s Wells’ current building, designed by Principal Architects ArtsTeam@RHWL and Exterior Architects Nicholas Hare Architects, is the sixth to exist on the site. The first opened 340 years ago in 1683.

Sadler’s Wells has played an important role in the history of theatre, with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and English National Opera all starting life here. When Sadler’s Wells was redesigned in the 1990s into a purpose-built dance theatre, it featured a larger 15m² sprung stage and more seats (1,500), three rehearsal studios and the Lilian Baylis Studio, which seats 180, for small-scale work.

The 1998 building was the result of a major fund-raising drive by audiences, artists and supporters, and the project was an early beneficiary of National Lottery Funding. This aided the transformation from the dilapidated but much-loved pre-War building to a state-of-the-art centre for dance.

While Sadler’s Wells in Angel was rebuilt, we put on shows at Peacock Theatre in London’s West End – and have done so ever since.
Over the last 25 years we’ve presented 1,870 productions on the Sadler’s Wells stage, to audiences of almost 7 million.

Led by Artistic Director and Co-Chief Executive Sir Alistair Spalding CBE since 2004, Sadler’s Wells has become one of the most important centres for dance in the world. We invite people to watch, engage with and enjoy dance in all its forms.

In our anniversary month, audiences have the chance to see a wide range of dance across our stages, including ballet, contemporary, South Asian, African, Argentinian, hip hop, and flamenco.