Shakespeare at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre
1906-1960

Sir Barry Jackson was the founder of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. On 15th February 1913 the theatre in Station St. opened with a performance of Twelfth Night and closed in 1970 with 1066 And All That. In 1984 the Sir Barry Jackson Trust agreed to deposit the archive, which includes printed, manuscript and photographic records relating to Sir Barry Jackson and the old Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with Birmingham Central Library.

This exhibition focuses on the the photographic collections.  Select a topic below to continue:

The archive is important because of the number of famous actors who started their careers at the theatre, such as Laurence Olivier, Peggy Ashcroft, Paul Scofield, Albert Finney and Julie Christie. A catalogue of the archive is available online at http://www.ahds.ac.uk/performingarts/collections/birmingham-repertory.htm

The archive comprises:

• prompt books

• programmes

• photographs of productions

• photograph albums relating to the Malvern Festival

• press cuttings

• play texts and works of literary criticism from Sir Barry's own library

• Repertory Theatre administrative records

• papers relating to Sir Barry Jackson