University of Bristol Theatre Collection

The University of Bristol Theatre Collection is one of the world’s largest archives of British theatre history. Founded in 1951, it began as a working collection for drama students and artists. The archive holds designs, playbills, costumes and recordings alongside personal papers from actors, designers and directors. It also includes the Live Art Archive, a specialist resource for performance art. The collection grew after receiving the Mander and Mitchenson archive in 2010. Plans are in place to move into a new university library with public exhibition spaces. The archive is fully accredited as a museum and archive service. It received Archive Service Accreditation in 2017 from The National Archives. The service supports scholars, artists and the wider community through exhibitions, talks and events. Friends of the Theatre Collection volunteer and raise funds, including £10,000 for the Oliver Messel archive. The collection recognises the work of figures like Glynne Wickham, who shaped its early development. Its holdings span centuries of British theatre practice and scholarship. Visitors find a reference library with over 25,000 books and 300 journals. The reading room provides access to archival materials on request. The collection includes nine surviving Bristol Old Vic silver tickets from 1766. It also holds promptscripts, photographs and magic lantern slides. The Live Art Archive offers recordings and publications on contemporary performance. The space supports research, study and public engagement with theatre history.