16

The Director, University of Bristol Theatre Collection,

Department of Drama, Cantocks Close, Bristol BS8 1UP

Tel: 0117 33 15086 Email: theatre-collection@bristol.ac.uk

Website: www.bristol.ac.uk/theatrecollection

Recent highlights include:

Graham Barlow Archive

additions—design archive

[donated by Priscilla Barlow]

Bristol Hippodrome material

Including posters,

[donated by John Lamus]

Terry Hallett Collection

[donated by Greer Hallett

- see details on Page 3]

NRLA 2010 Footage

[Commissioned by the Theatre

Collection]

Phyllida Garth Archive

[donated by Lesley Trotter]

Friends Event

The Crucible: talk & show

Tuesday 15th June

£13 - includes the show and a

post-show discussion with

the director Sue Wilson

Exhibition Opening

The Ingram bequest:

Leslie Hurry Designs

Friday 11th June, 6pm

Please contact the Theatre

Collection to book your place

Volunteer Sessions:

Preservation preparation in

the Theatre Collection

Wednesday 9th June

10am - 12pm

Wednesday 7th July

2pm - 4pm

Phone Jo, Bex or Heather on

0117 33 15086 or email

theatre-collection@bristol.ac.uk

Tea and biscuits provided!

THEATRE COLLECTION

MAILINGS

Please note: if you have received

this newsletter by mail it means that

your name and address are stored

on the Theatre Collection mailing

list. These details may be used by

the Theatre Collection, and also

more widely by the University of

Bristol. Should you wish your details

to be removed from the mailing list,

please contact us.

Forthcoming Events New Accessions

Spring 2010 Issue 23

THE NRLA CELEBRATES 30 YEARS!

The NRLA reached a very special landmark when it celebrated

its 30th Anniversary in March 2010.

In the past three decades the festival has hosted work from

some of the most adventurous artists from all over the world. It

has travelled to Nottingham and London, but has always

returned to roost in Glasgow. It has featured performances that

have lasted moments, and others for 97 hours. Audiences have

watched paper launched into the Glasgow night sky on helium

balloons, been soaked by upturned hoses, and washed their

hands with soap made from the fat of an artist's stomach.

The NRLA has hosted artists who have screamed, wept, writhed,

slept and drawn blood, and to celebrate its long and colourful

history, more than a hundred artists were invited back to

present new work. The line-up was nothing short of

extraordinary, including work from such live art luminaries as

Ron Athey, Neil Bartlett, Julia Bardsley, Alastair MacLennan, La

Ribot, Lee Wen and Kira O'Reilly.

The Theatre Collection commissioned the video

documentation of the festival by a specialist camera team. A

full list of the archived footage from the 2010 Festival is

available at http://www.bris.ac.uk/theatrecollection/liveart/

liveart_NRLA.html and is available to view by appointment.

2

Professor of Medieval Studies,

Pamela King, in partnership

with the Bristol University Thea-

tre Collection, has secured

funding from the Worldwide

Universities Network to progress

their project "Medieval Plays in

Modern Performance" (http://

w w w . w u n . a c . u k /

research/2mp).

The funding will enable an in-

ternational team of theatre

scholars, led by Bristol, to track

all known archival traces of

twentieth-century revivals, re-

constructions, and adapta-

tions of English drama from the

Middle Ages.

The project wants to uncover

previously unknown archival

traces in order to create a

central hub of information. It is

expected that the archives will

reveal the work of pioneering

producers who defied the

censors to bring God to the

stage for the first time since the

2MP Project

reign of Elizabeth I.

The 1951 Festival of Britain saw

an explosion of interest in ac-

tivity which had begun 50

years earlier with William Poel's

production of "Everyman".

Bristol University Drama Depart-

ment, the first of its kind in the

UK, helped drive this forward

with such seminal productions

a s t h e C o r n i s h

"Ordinalia" (1969).

The project seeks to ensure

that these unique archives are

preserved for, and made ac-

cessible to, future generations.

Owners and custodians of rel-

evant material are invited to

contact the project partners

about the material they hold.

For more information contact

the Theatre Collection on 0117

331 5086 or theatre-

collection@bristol.ac.uk.

2MP Project

Tam

ing

of

the

Sh

rew

Me

die

-

va

l P

laye

rs, 19

85

Bristol Drama Dept, Cornish

Ordinalia, 1969

15

Legacies

By leaving a gift in your will

to the University of Bristol

Theatre Collection you can

help it to grow and ensure

the best care for our collec-

tions, so enabling students

to access this unique re-

source.

Regardless of its size, your

legacy will live on forever,

and it will make a significant

impact on Bristol University

generation after genera-

tion.

For further information

please contact Jo Elsworth.

A Reminder ….

It is vital that we keep a rec-

ord of people using the The-

atre Collection Therefore, in

October 2009, the Theatre

Collection introduced a

new system where all exter-

nal researchers (including

those only using the library)

will be asked to complete a

researcher’s form. A visitor’s

pass will then be issued and

must be produced when

signing in each day.

New Procedures

Ted Hughes

and Shakespeare

This year’s Wickham lecture, in

conjunction with the Society for

Theatre Research, was given

by Jonathan Bate on 4th May.

A leading Shakespeare scholar,

Bate’s lecture focussed on the

subject of

Bate’s cur-

rent re-

search for

his book on

the literary

l i f e o f

Hughes.

Ted Hughes was passionate

about Shakespeare, an obses-

sion that culminated in his book

Shakespeare and the Goddess

of Complete Being. Derided by

professional Shakespeareans

on its publication, it now looks

prophetic of the turn towards

an interest in religion in much

recent work on Shakespeare.

Shakespeare expert Jonathan

Bate, reassesses the poet as a

reader of Shakespeare, while

also showing how this publica-

tion gives us more of an insight

into Hughes’ life and personali-

ty than that of Shakespeare.

The lecture was well attended

and enjoyed by all.

Wickham Lecture 2010

14

Gog Theatre Company

Gog Theatre was initially

formed from a three month

theatre training and perfor-

mance Youth Opportunities

Programme, sponsored by a

M a n p o w e r S e r v i c e s

scheme, in 1981.

The name, Gog, was sug-

gested by a member of the

theatre group as there are

two 1000 year old trees at

the foot of Glastonbury Tor

called Gog and Magog. It

was said in the Druids time

that these trees were the

beginning of a sacred tree

a v e n u e

that let up

to the Tor.

The tree is

also the

logo of the

Gog Thea-

tre.

Gog Theatre worked with

primary and secondary

schools, colleges, youth and

community centres by way

of performance tours, work-

shop programmes in thea-

tre, dance, video and cir-

cus, alongside a commit-

ment to multi-cultural edu-

One From the Archive ... cation within the country.

As well as touring schools,

Gog has also devised and

performed other plays

aimed at adult audiences

and toured them to various

venues in England, including

the Edinburgh Festival.

Gog also undertook work on

an international scale. In

November 1985 Gog trav-

elled to Cameroon, West

Africa for a three month

performance and workshop

tour. From this visit evolved

two productions, A Comin’

Home and Into Africa.

Following this, in September

1989, Gog travelled to Tbilisi,

Georgia USSR for the first

part of a unique cultural ex-

change project with the

Rustaveli Young Company.

Gog premiered a new play

called Birdman based on

the story of Bladud, an an-

cient King of Britain, who

wanted to fly. In May 1990

Gog Theatre hosted the

Rustaveli Young Company

in England, with a national

tour of The Stepmother.

This archive is currently be-

ing catalogued by a volun-

teer and oral history inter-

views are being undertaken

with the original members.

Go

g P

ost

er,

198

4-5

3

The Terry Hallett

Collection

Donated by his wife, Greer,

the Theatre Collection has

recently acquired the Terry

Hallett archive. The author

of Bristol's Forgotten Empire:

the History of the Empire

Theat re, Hal let t was

involved in many local

history and theatre history

projects, and was a keen

cinema and theatre-goer.

Amongst his papers are

programmes, playbil ls ,

photographs, books and

research notes relating to

Bristol Theatre and Music

Hall.

Cinema related material

from this collection has

been donated to the Bill

Douglas Centre at the

University of Exeter.

New Archives Obituary

Rodney West

(1943—2010)

It is with

sadness that

we report

the death of

R o d n e y

West.

Following his

undergraduate degree at

Leeds, Rodney undertook a

postgraduate course at

Bristol University Drama

Dept.

He joined the Bristol Old Vic

Company as Assistant

Theatre Manager in 1967, as

a student placement.

When, in May 1968 he took

up position as Theatre

Manager he did so as ‘the

youngest Theatre Manager

in the oldest theatre’. He

later founded London Arts

Discovery.

Rodney was an established

committee member of the

Friends of the Theatre

Collection. He will be missed

by all who knew him.

A memorial service is to be

held at St. Paul’s Church,

Covent Garden, London on

25th September 2010, 11am.

Fro

nt

co

ve

r o

f B

rist

ol’s

For-

go

tte

n E

mp

ire

, Te

rry H

alle

tt

4

successes in the West End in-

cluding War and Peace, A Sev-

ered Head, and Fiorello.

By 1966 Barlow had developed

an ambition to direct. So he

matriculated at Bristol to read

for the combined degree in

English, Drama and History of

European Art. During these

three years he remained inter-

mittently at the service of the

Bristol Old Vic and naturally of

the Drama Department where

he enjoyed a happy collabora-

tion with Professor Glynn Wick-

ham on many productions.

On graduating he applied for

an academic post at the re-

cently established Drama De-

partment at the University of

Glasgow. His postgraduate

study led to his becoming a

recognized authority on 16th

and 17th century theatre archi-

tecture. His doctoral thesis, From

Tennis Court to Opera House

became a seminal study in this

field.

In 1983, Barlow set up home

with his second wife on the Isle

of Skye but continued to com-

mute and teach. He retired ear-

ly in 1993.

He bequeathed his archives to

the Theatre Collection in his will

and following his death in 2003

first his academic papers, and

more recently his designs are

now held here.

New Archives

Graham Barlow designs

Graham Barlow’s love for all

aspects of theatre became

evident during his time at LSE,

whilst also working for the Metal

Box Company. National Service,

spent mainly in Germany en-

couraged this with the cultural

renaissance taking place and

the West Berlin scene.

When he left the army, he re-

turned to London with a firm

ambition to become a theatre

designer. There was nothing like

a training in the then flourishing

repertory system and Barlow

found a position in a company

in St Helen’s to train as a scenic

artist. His talent was recognized

and he was contracted to work

under Paul Shelving at Birming-

ham Rep, moving on to Notting-

ham and finally to Bristol Old Vic

where, now married with two

young children, he was estab-

lished as resident designer with

Portrait of Graham Barlow from

his time at Bristol Old Vic

13

The Theatre Collection dealt

with 156 research enquiries

from January to April 2010,

including 38 regarding the

Live Art Archives.

Subjects included: Welfare

S t a t e I n t e r n a t i o n a l

(including a number of re-

searchers using the materi-

al); Harold Pinter, especially

regarding The Room; re-

quests for images for use in

television and publications

including John Vickers, Bris-

tol Old Vic and others; fami-

ly history enquiries from

those whose ancestors were

on the stage; and theatre

architecture.

We also had 661 visitors in

the Reading Room during

the same period.

Researchers are encour-

aged to use our online

s e a r c h f a c i l i t y :

www.bristol.ac.uk/theatrec

ollection as a first point of

reference.

Any questions …? Theatre Collection

Opening Hours

Monday 12.00pm - 4 .45pm

Tuesday to Friday

9.30 am - 4.45 pm

We are closed at weekends

and on Bank Holidays and

University closure days. We

close for 2 weeks in early

September for collections

management and may very

occasionally close for other

reasons - please phone us

on 0117 33 15086 or check

our website for any forth-

coming closure dates.

In order to make the most of

your visit to the Theatre Col-

lection archives, it is advisa-

ble (but not essential) to

make an appointment with

us, either by phone (0117 33

15086) or email (theatre-

collection@bristol.ac.uk).

We can then discuss your

requirements and retrieve

any archival material re-

quested in time for your arri-

val.

We look forward to

seeing you soon!

12

Desperate Men

30th Anniversary

2010 sees the 30th anniver-

sary of Bristol-based interna-

tionally renowned theatre

company, Desperate Men.

Desperate Men are one of

the UK’s longest-running

Street Theatre Companies.

Founded in Amsterdam in

1980 by Richie Smith and

Jon Beedell, the company

combines contemporary

themes with an anarchic,

passionate style.

Since 1980 Desperate Men

have produced eight in-

door shows; over thirty street

shows, animations and

community events in the UK

and abroad; performed

countless cabarets, led doz-

ens of workshops, produced

videos for Channel 4, and

invented their own lan-

guage, “Desperanto” They

have appeared from Edin-

burgh to Athens, Sligo to

Berlin.

On 15th—17th October

there will be a series of

events taking place in Bristol

to celebrate the 30th anni-

versary, aptly named ‘The

Festival of Desperation’.

One aspect is the ‘Acts of

Desperation’ project with

new and emerging Bristol

based performers (funded

by Bristol City Council).

There will also be an exhibi-

tion which is to be curated

by and mounted in the The-

atre Collection foyer, chart-

ing the history of the Desper-

ate Men and their iconic

work.

It is also planned that the

archives will be transferred

to the Theatre Collection

during this year, to be pre-

served and catalogued. A

postgraduate student is cur-

rently working on the mate-

rial to sort and appraise it

before transfer takes place.

For more information see:

http://www.desperatemen.

com/.

5

Working with Students

The Theatre Collection is con-

tinuing to be involved in the

teaching of the Drama Dept

and more widely across the

Faculty of Arts.

This term first year undergradu-

ates have been working with

the archives in various ways in

their Approaches 2 module. At

the beginning of the module

they had to create a timeline,

choosing a 50 year period and

then selecting 2 historic and 3

theatrical key events in that

period. They were to use the

library and the archives to find

these events – and were NOT

allowed to use the internet at

all!

The culmination of this same

module, saw the students cre-

ating a performance, using

items from the archives as in-

spiration. Items including a

make-up box, scenic grooves

from Bristol Old Vic, a Victorian

court sword, and Franko B’s

collar were used.

The Theatre Collection has also

established a new Independ-

ent Study postgraduate mod-

ule within History of Art entitled

‘Curating the Theatre Collec-

tion’. The unit aims to give MA

students extra curatorial expe-

rience, which is particularly

important for those wanting to

go on to work in museums and

galleries. Students will acquire

practical experience of cura-

torial processes, and expert

knowledge of the subject-

matter of the exhibition. They

will develop techniques of in-

dependent research as well as

enhancing their ability to work

in a team. The task of prepar-

ing texts for the catalogue

and display will enhance their

research and writing skills.

Sophie, a postgraduate on the

MA Performance Research

course, is basing her disserta-

tion on the Berta Freistadt ar-

chive, recent additions to

which were reported in the last

newsletter. She will be cata-

loguing the new material as

part of this work.

Eleanor, a third-year under-

graduate, used the Theatre

Collection and museum pro-

cesses as inspiration for her

final year performance. It in-

volved the audience writing

down memories concerning

their body, snippets of which

were written on Eleanor’s body

in the archive. She then com-

mitted herslef to the archive as

a commentary on ‘the body

as archive’. All the items creat-

ed by the performance were

donated to the Theatre Col-

lection, completing the circle.

Working with Students

6

historical-cluster-f***. This

instantaneous documenting

of live work took the form of

collating and recycling past

events through existing his-

torical documents over a

two-day period.

Through access to the ar-

chives of the NRLA, TRACE

photocopied existing perfor-

mance photo documents,

catalogues, posters, flyers,

and programmes of past

performances and events

produced by the NRLA

since 1979.

During the live performanc-

es the artists processed this

documentation by continu-

ously photocopying images

of past performances on a

series of photocopy ma-

chines. They further insinuat-

ed their own physical pres-

ence into the archive by

photocopying their own

bodies. The photocopies

were shredded, with the

shredded material being

placed in recycled bags for

redistribution. The public

had full access throughout

to experience the ‘live’ ac-

tivity and the resulting instal-

lation/evidence and residu-

al traces.

Live Art Archives News

Post-Historical-Cluster-F***

As part of the 30th Anniver-

sary of the NRLA, the Live Art

Archives were delighted to

collaborate with TRACE Col-

lective on a new perfor-

mance piece.

TRACE is dedicated to the

research, investigation, dis-

semination and discourse of

performance art. The

group’s aim is to focus on

the investigation and explo-

ration of living performance

activity and its discourse

and dissemination through

process, documentation

and archiving.

For the 30th anniversary of

the NRLA, through a dura-

tional performance, the

Trace Collective reviewed

the history of the National

Review of Live Art as post-

Live Art Archives News

TRACE Collective: André Stitt, Eddie

Ladd, Holly Davey, Philip Babot and

Tim Freeman

11

Oral History Project

This project looks

to record the

memories of

those involved

in the theatre,

whose memories

may otherwise be

lost forever, and

aims to:

Build up an oral history

archive to compliment the

collections held here;

Provide an enhanced

research resource;

Provide an alternative

way for our supporters to

contribute to the develop-

ment of the Theatre Collec-

tion.

Want to get involved? We need help to conduct

interviews, transcribe re-

cordings, or even financially

sponsor an interview. We

are also keen to interview

those involved in the thea-

tre in any way.

More details can be found

at www.br i s to l .ac .uk/

t h e a t r e c o l l e c t i o n /

oral_history_leaflet.html.

Friends Event

The Crucible: Performance and post

-show talk

Tuesday 15th June 2010

Andrew Stocker, Chair of

the Friends Association, has

arranged for a post-show

talk by director Sue Wilson,

prior to the Bristol Old Vic

Theatre School’s production

of Miller’s The Crucible at

the Theatre Royal, Bristol.

Sue will talk about this pro-

duction and her experienc-

es of working with the Thea-

tre School.

Please note: this event is

open to Friends of the Thea-

tre Collection only.

Cost £13.

To book your place, please

contact Jo, Heather or Bex

on 0117 331 5086 or theatre-

collection@bristol.ac.uk

10

TC Exhibition News

Ray Ingram Bequest:

Hurry at London Old Vic

Raymond Ingram was an

enthusiast of the theatre, his

love for drama influencing

much of his life. Having

worked as a drama teacher

in Wolverhampton and

Taunton, he later went on to

lecture on the subject at the

University of Winchester, in

due course becoming the

Head of the Drama Depart-

ment.

During his earlier years stud-

ying at King’s College he

became acquainted with

the artist and set designer

Leslie Hurry, who was to be-

come a lifelong friend. In-

gram collected many of

Hurry’s designs, soon be-

coming the leading authori-

ty on his work.

This exhibition is in com-

TC Exhibition News

memoration of Raymond

Ingram and the collection

of Leslie Hurry designs he

has donated to the Theatre

Collection. It showcases a

selection of Hurry’s set and

costume designs, primarily

from the London Old Vic

productions of Tamburlaine

the Great, Richard II and

The Cenci.

The exhibition also continues

in the Reading Room, dis-

playing designs from other

well known productions by

Leslie Hurry, such as Hamlet.

Opening event

This exhibition will be official-

ly opened on Friday 11th

June at 6pm, in the Theatre

Collection Foyer and Read-

ing Room. All are welcome -

see enclosed flyer for details

and to book.

Co

stu

me

de

sig

n,

Qu

ee

n

in R

ich

ard

II, L

on

do

n O

ld

Vic

, 1

95

5.

Lesl

ie H

urr

y

7

NRLA 1979 – 2010: A Personal History

To celebrate the 30th Anniver-

sary of the NRLA, a limited edi-

tion Box Set was launched at

midnight on Wednesday

March 17th at the CCA in Glas-

gow.

The Box Set represents the

unique spirit of the NRLA festi-

val, as well as the diversity of its

programme over the past 30

years. Seventy contributors

each offer their own perspec-

tive on and history of the long-

est-running live art festival in

the world.

The archive, held at the Thea-

tre Collection, was heavily used

to create this box set and all

material from all the past festi-

vals can be viewed here.

Celebrating 30 years of remark-

able live arts practice, the set

contains:

3 specially produced DVDs,

capturing 3 decades of work

shown at the NRLA;

comprehensive interviews

with Artistic Director, Nikki Mili-

can, telling the story of the

founding of the NRLA, its early

years, and its subsequent de-

velopments;

Live Art Archives News

newly commissioned essays

by significant international art-

ists and producers reflecting

on the place of the NRLA in

their own careers and on the

international live art scene;

anecdotal reflections which

bring to life the distinctive en-

ergy – the liveness – of the

NRLA;

‘Off the Radar’ – contribu-

tions from artists who once

played a key role in the NRLA,

but who have not been at the

NRLA since its early years;

a published ‘archive’ which

lists, year by year, all the artists,

works and events that have

been programmed by the

NRLA since its inception.

reproductions of all the front

covers of the NRLA pro-

grammes and poster cam-

paigns.

Price £45 + p&p

To order your Limited Edition Box

Set, please visit the New Moves

website at

http://www.newmoves.co.uk/na

tional-review-of-live-art

To contact the Theatre Collec-

tion to view any of the NRLA ma-

terial, contact liveart-

archives@bristol.ac.uk.

Live Art Archives News

8

Volunteer News

The number of Theatre Col-

lection Volunteers has

grown recently, with a num-

ber of new Volunteers tak-

ing on individual projects.

Some projects are:

Eleanor J is helping to cu-

rate the next Theatre Col-

lection exhibition, based on

the Raymond Ingram Be-

quest of Leslie Hurry designs

(see page 10 for more de-

tails).

Eleanor F, a third year Dra-

ma student has been listing

the recently acquired Rose-

mary Vercoe/Patrick Rob-

ertson design archive, which

was reported in the last

newsletter.

Anne is gaining museum

experience by making sta-

tistical sense of the Theatre

Collection environmental

monitoring forms - essential

for preventing any potential

problems for the collection.

Volunteer News

Caroline has started the

mammoth task of indexing

the Ingram scrapbooks to

make these useful research

items accessible.

Sophie is working with Des-

perate Men theatre com-

pany to appraise and or-

ganise their archive before

it is donated to the Theatre

Collection. She is also under-

taking Oral History interviews

with the members of the

company. See page 12 for

more information

Volunteer Sessions

Preservation Work

A new project for 2010 -

preservation of the John Vickers

glass plate negatives, creating

specialist storage for this archive

Wednesday 9th June 10am-12pm

Wednesday 7th July 2pm-4pm

Phone Jo, Bex or Heather on

0117 33 15086 or email

theatre-collection@bristol.ac.uk

9

Friends News

space. The seats themselves

are different, borrowed for the

duration of the run so that we

can test them out for comfort

and style.

Moving up to the dress circle,

we’ve started to combat one

of our biggest obstacles: the

beautiful pillars that both help

define our auditorium, and

block the view of many of our

patrons. By losing the central

aisle we’ve been able to cre-

ate entrances where there

were once restricted view seats

and, vice versa, seats where

the aisle once was; the central,

raised, best view in the house.

There are different seats here

too, and we think they’re pretty

comfy.

In the gallery you’ll notice

something different: each seat

gives you a full view of the

stage, achieved by raising the

benches just a little. This area is

now unreserved, so if you get in

first and grab the front row then

you really will have one of the

best spots in the theatre for a

fraction of the price of the

stalls.

We’d love to know what you

think. Please drop me a line on

emma@bristol-old-vic.co.uk, or

write to me at the theatre.

Emma

(Emma Stenning, Executive

Director, BOV)

Friends News

Dear Friends of the Theatre Col-

lection,

Thank you so much for inviting

me to join your AGM before

Christmas. It’s always a treat to

spend time talking about our

beautiful theatre with like mind-

ed souls!

I would like to tell you a little

about the temporary changes

that we’ve made to the Thea-

tre Royal auditorium for our

production of Juliet and Her

Romeo, which Tom is directing.

We’ve been trying out some of

the ideas that are driving our

planned for capital develop-

ment with a fairly simple ambi-

tion in mind; that the audience

should get a better view of the

stage and a little more leg

room.

We’ve put the stage back to its

original thrust format, as we did

last year for Uncle Vanya.

We’ve opened up the stage

left box to make an actor’s

entrance, whilst sitting in the

stage right one puts you within

thrilling touching distance of

the performance.

In the stalls we’ve raised the

floor level to give a better view

of the extended stage and,

most strikingly, we’ve got rid of

the central aisle, filling the best

positions in the house with

seats, rather than empty