Diaghilev’s The Triumph of Neptune explored at Renishaw Hall
Discover a special display exploring how Benjamin Pollock’s toy theatre characters and scenes inspired a Diaghilev ballet in 1926. Alan Powers, Chair of the Pollock’s Toy Museum Trust, writes:
Since the beginning of the year, I have been working on an exhibition showing at Renishaw Hall, Derbyshire, about Diaghilev’s 1926 ballet, The Triumph of Neptune.
The ballet and the toy theatre
Diaghilev wanted to commission an English ballet as a tribute to his supporters in England. Together with the writer Sacheverell Sitwell he visited the two surviving toy theatre publishers in East London, Benjamin Pollock and H. J. Webb, in search of a subject. Entranced by what he saw there, the great Russian impresario asked Sitwell to weave a story from the fantastical imagery of these plays from the past.
The scenery from The Silver Palace, enlarged to the full size of the Lyceum stage, formed their backdrop, and the ballet was presented to the music of Lord Berners, with choreography by the young George Balanchine.
The exhibition and the Renishaw connection
Renishaw was the childhood home of Sacheverell Sitwell, his sister Edith and brother Osbert. It now belongs to his granddaughter, Alexandra, who has kindly made the museum room in the old stables available for our miniature extravaganza, proudly presented by Pollock’s Toy Museum Trust.
The exhibits on display at Renishaw include two fabulous authentic Diaghilev ballet costumes, lent by the John Bright Collection at Cosprop Ltd. These are set against a reconstructed backdrop after Alexandre Benois, from the first Diaghilev ballet, Le Pavillion d’Armide, 1909. Also on display are representations of Pollock and Webb’s toy theatres, with surviving material from the Pollock shop, and a final tableau presenting The Triumph of Neptune itself.
The exhibition will be open to visitors to Renishaw Hall and Gardens during their garden opening season, Wednesday to Sunday, from 22 April to Christmas 2026.