JISC

Theatre Archive goes online for first time

Griff Rhys Jones, acting as Chairman of Hackney Empire’s Fundraising Appeal, said: 'The many supporters who rallied to save the Hackney Empire helped to highlight the overwhelming importance of theatre as an accessible medium for culture and entertainment that is open to all. With JISC’s funding and the University of East London’s help, the East London Theatre Archive will allow easy access to the vibrant and exciting world of theatre so its colourful past can live on.'     Over 15,000 rare playbills, photographs, posters and press cuttings charting the history of East London theatre will be free to access online for the first time today as part of a project spearheaded by the University of East London (UEL) and funded by JISC.  

With support from JISC, the East London Theatre Archive (ELTA) showcases genres that flourished in the East End including music hall, burlesque and alternative comedy, with materials dating back as far as 1827.     

The archive includes posters from events staged by political theatre company Cartoon Archetypical Slogan Theatre (CAST) at the Hackney Empire, documenting early gigs from the likes of Paul Merton, Julian Clary, Jo Brand and Steve Coogan. 19th century play texts, newspaper cuttings and play scripts are also featured.

ELTA’s material focuses on key East London venues including the Hackney Empire, Half Moon Young People’s Theatre, Hoxton Hall, Theatre Royal Stratford East and Wilton's Music Hall with over 10,000 items coming from the V&A Theatre Collections. Other resources include images of the theatres taken by photographer Jamie Lumley, plus articles and essays from theatre historian John Earl. 

The online database is free to access and will allow students, historians and theatre fans alike to delve into the rich history of the East End’s theatre scene. 

Andrew McDonald, Director of Library and Learning Services at UEL and Project Director at ELTA commented, 'Despite often being in the shadow of its West End counterpart, East End theatre has made many influential contributions to the world of performing arts which are documented through the archive’s content. With JISC’s funding we have been able to preserve a valuable slice of cultural history so it can live on for years to come.'

Alastair Dunning, Programme  Manager at JISC added, 'The University of East London together with its project partners has been carefully collating the materials for the ELTA project to ensure it reflects the history of East End theatre.  ELTA will not only inspire people but allow them to engage with a history they may otherwise not have had access to which is at the very heart of JISC’s ethos - to fund and support innovative uses of technology.'

Roland Muldoon co-founder of CAST who contributed to the archive commented, 'Political theatre goes out of date very quickly and people wanted to throw it out; I couldn’t do that so in the end I kept all the memorabilia and posters under my bed. Having it all brought back to life is wonderful.'

Listen to a podcast with ELTA project manager Yvonne Klein
Visit the East London Theatre Archive
Learn more about the JISC Digitisation programme