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Description: | The major collections within the Archive include:
Birmingham Repertory Theatre material including minutes, licences, contracts, press releases, inventory, plans, invoices, publicity correspondence, personal diaries, correspondence, talks, etc. of Sir Barry Jackson dated 1912-1963 and photographs.
Theatre Royal, Birmingham prompt book collection of c.3000 printed prompt books and c.500 manuscript prompt books c.1800-1880, minute books, ledgers, letter books, deeds, correspondence, plans, inventories, etc. dated 1773-1954.
Correspondence between Sir Barry Jackson (1876-1961), theatre director and George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), playwright and others. This correspondence, which is unpublished, was presented by Tom English, Sir Barry Jackson's secretary, and was purchased from his estate. The correspondence includes letters and postcards between Shaw and Jackson, 1923-1950, discussing writing, personal circumstances, theatre productions at the Malvern Theatre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre, etc. There is also correspondence from Charlotte Shaw to Sir Barry, 1923-1941, and from Blanche Patch, Shaw's secretary.
Banner Theatre of Actuality: this was founded in 1974 as a socialist theatre company. Banner aimed to present issues in the words of those involved by tape recording them, and to use folk music as part of a multi media theatre experience. The early shows and street theatre included themes of mining, racism, the women's movement, women at work, car workers, the NHS, public services, housing, etc. and much of the work was connected to trade union issues. The Company still exists and has deposited the tape recordings, slide images, scripts, papers, administrative files, etc. up to c.1986.
Records of West Midland Arts. These include minutes, papers, correspondence dating from 1957, policies advisory panels for drama, dance, mime, music, community arts groups in Birmingham and material relating to the National Garden Festival held in Stoke in 1986.
Manning Collection. Papers collected by Harold Manning concernig theatres and music halls in Birmingham and the Black Country in the 19th and 20th centuries. The collection includes histories, song sheets, biographies of performers, obituaries, autographed photographs and miscellaneous correspondence.
Birmingham Triennial Music Festival. This includes programmes, newscuttings, correspondence, accounts, tickets and histories. Correspondence includes letters from Gounod, Stanford and Mendelssohn.
Birmingham Festival Choral Society, 1845-1951; Amateur Harmonic Association of Birmingham, 1856-1889; Anacreontic Society, 1793-1814; Arcadian Musical Society, 1937-1970; Birmingham and Midland Amateur Operatic Society, 1886-1986; Birmingham and Midland Folk Center, mid 20th century; Birmingham and Midland Institute School of Music, 1882-1954. Plus many other papers relating to the performing arts and music.
Charles Parker Collection: Charles Parker (1919-1980) was a BBC radio producer in Birmingham from 1953-1972. He is best known for production of the Radio Ballads, a radio art form which combined voices of real people with folk music and songs written by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger. Folk music was a strong interest, and he founded the Birmingham and Midland Folk Centre in 1963 and was a member of the The Critics Group (led by Ewan MacColl). He co-founded the Grey Cock Folk Club and in 1974 was one of the founder members of Banner Theatre of Actuality. The collection includes scripts, correspondence and other papers relating to Parker's career and interests, plus over 5000 hours of reel to reel tape recordings (c.100 hours have so far been made available on listening cassettes) and Parker's library, comprising over 1000 books on broadcasting, folk tradition, politics, religion, etc.; There are indexes, draft lists and box lists available. The Charles Parker Collection has a draft catalogue and a subject index to papers and cassettes.
Birmingham City Archives, Birmingham City Council, | Format: | Correspondence Documents (production) Photographs (miscellaneous) Press cuttings Documents (business) Audio tapes (cassette) Licenses Photographs (portrait) Slides Playtexts (prompt books) Audio tapes (reel to reel) Theatre plans Books Playtexts (manuscripts) Song sheets | Subjects: | Business records; press releases; publicity; licenses; diaries; letters; folk music; folk songs; theater; feminism and theater; obituaries; photographs; theater programs; clippings (books etc.); choral societies; amateur theater; radio-production and direction newspapers 19th century; 20th century; theatre history; contracts; street theatre; amateur dramatics; amateur operatics; West Midlands; Black Country | Temporal: | 1980 1770 | Source: | Backstage | Address: | Central Library
Chamberlain Square, Birmingham,,
B3 3HQ | Telephone: | 0121 303 4549 | Identifier: | www.backstage.ac.uk/records/collection/c | Language: | en | Format: | Correspondence Documents (production) Photographs (miscellaneous) Press cuttings Documents (business) Audio tapes (cassette) Licenses Photographs (portrait) Slides Playtexts (prompt books) Audio tapes (reel to reel) Theatre plans Books Playtexts (manuscripts) Song sheets | Go to resource |
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