Blog
‘SHARING THE MESSEL MAGIC’: The Oliver Messel Archive at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection
Posted: Monday, May 20th, 2019
This month we hear from Gemma Brace, Exhibitions and Engagement Officer, at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection. Gemma describes ‘Sharing the Messel Magic’; a two-year project, which has done more than simply document the life and work of renowned stage designer Oliver Messel. The project has connected this world-class performing arts collection with artists, […]
THEATRE TREASURES: NATIONAL THEATRE ARCHIVE UNBOXED
Posted: Tuesday, February 19th, 2019
In our February blog, Erin Lee, Head of Archive, National Theatre, explains how a new exhibition being staged at the London theatre, is celebrating the 25th birthday of its archive and responses to the treasures held within. In 2019, the National Theatre Archive turns 25. Established in 1994, the Archive aims to document, preserve and […]
The Contribution of the Popular Entertainment Sector to the First World War
Posted: Tuesday, November 20th, 2018
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, the National Fairground and Circus Archive, at the University of Sheffield, have mounted an exhibition on the role of popular entertainment during the Great War. Arantza Barrutia, Collections Manager, tells us more in this month’s blog… In 1914 escalating political tensions and power […]
Shakespeare Uncut: Talking to Strangers
Posted: Monday, June 18th, 2018
This month we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Refugee Week with a blog from Rossella Black – Librarian at Shakespeare’s Globe – who explains how Shakespeare’s ‘Strangers’ Speech’, from The Book of Sir Thomas More, is as relevant today as it was in the Elizabethan era. ‘..the right to travel, is not a privilege […]
200 Years of The Old Vic in London
Posted: Monday, May 21st, 2018
May 2018 marks the 200th anniversary of The Old Vic in London. The National Theatre and University of Bristol Theatre Collection are both marking this anniversary with exhibitions. Erin Lee – Head of Archives at the National Theatre, and Jill Sullivan – Archives Assistant at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection tell us more. The […]
250th Anniversary of the Birth of Circus
Posted: Tuesday, December 19th, 2017
For our final blog post of 2017 Arantza Barrutia-Wood, Collections Manager at the National Fairground and Circus Archive (NFCA), looks forward to 2018 and marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of modern circus in England as developed by Philip Astley in 1768. Philip Astley, was a Sergeant Major of the 15th Light Dragoons, who […]
“Oh yes it is!” and “Oh yes we do!”: pantomime collections at the University of Kent
Posted: Monday, November 20th, 2017
Joanna Baines is Senior Library Assistant at the Templeman Library, University of Kent, Canterbury, and this month she gets us in the festive spirit with a focus on two new exhibitions exploring the fascinating history of pantomime. What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘pantomime’? Is it a memory of childhood winter visits […]