The STR Archive: Uncovering a Legacy of Theatrical Preservation, Legislation and Education

Delivered by Dr Hannah Coleman Manktelow

NB Booking is only necessary if you wish to tell us about particular needs, eg accessibility concerns. There is an opportunity to do this at the checkout.

On 15^th June 1948, a group of theatre professionals and enthusiasts gathered at the Old Vic to discuss the formation of a society dedicated to researching and promoting their shared interest. In the seventy years since, the STR has played a fundamental role in British theatre history, but its work has often been overlooked. In this lecture I will explore the STR’s legacy as captured in its archive, highlighting the most significant achievements – saving historical buildings, creating the 1968 Reading agreement, establishing the Theatre Museum, shaping drama curricula, publishing scholarly works and operating an information service in the pre-internet era – as well as some of the more unexpected findings.

Dr Hannah Coleman Manktelow is the 2018/2019 TaPRA fellow and currently works at Oxford University where she connects researchers with Oxfordshire theatres. She completed her PhD, ‘Provincial Shakespeare Performance, 1769-2016: Cultural Exchange between Centre and Periphery’, at the University of Nottingham. Hannah has collaborated on Shakespeare-related projects with the BBC, British Library and the British Council.