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'Shakespeare's Villains',
an exhibition curated by Bristol MA students

Bristol Theatre Collection

The University of Bristol Theatre Collection is an accredited museum and research centre dedicated to the study of British Theatre History. It holds a vast collection of original documents, photographs, film footage and artefacts from theatres, actors, performers, designers and theatre historians. The Department of History of Art at Bristol has worked with the Theatre Collection and the Department of Drama to develop research projects at MA, PhD and undergraduate level. 

'Curating the Theatre Collection' is a collaborative MA unit which gives students the opportunity to curate a scholarly exhibition drawn from museum’s holdings. Recent projects have included: Shakespeare’s Villains (2010–11), A Life in the Theatre: The Beerbohm Trees and the Making of Her Majesty’s (2011–12) and Julia Trevelyan Oman: Between Creativity and Authenticity in The Merchant of Venice (2012–13).

Bristol MA Rhian Addison (2011–12) reports on her experience of working with the Theatre Collection:

"We were given privileged access to centuries of theatre memorabilia, scripts, costumes and art. It was our group responsibility to curate the exhibit, delegate work and open it to the public. We were able to choose the theme, the items on display, we were taught how to mount theatrical treasures and display them. It was extremely encouraging that our research contributed to the quality of the collection. This module is ideal for anyone who has a keen interest in curating. The Theatre Collection presents opportunities for an unprecedented understanding of the details of curating and how to overcome them. There is a great sense of achievement in the final exhibition."

Since completing her MA in 2012, Rhian has worked as a freelance curator at the Royal West of England Academy, where she leads on the exhibition One Hundred Years: The RWA and Royal Patronage (5 September – 5 November 2013). The RWA is also a teaching partner with the University of Bristol - for more about this collaboration, please see here.

Bristol PhD Lydia Edwards based her doctoral research on the Beerbohm Tree archive  held by the Bristol Theatre Collection. Her thesis, entitled   ‘ Dressing the Past: Historical Escapism in Herbert Beerbohm Tree, 1898-1912’, was supervised by Elizabeth Prettejohn (History of Art) and Catherine Hindson (Drama), and her research was facilitated by archivists at the Theatre Collection. After completing her studies at Bristol, Lydia taught at the Universities of St Andrews and Dundee, before taking up a Lectureship at Edith Cowan University, Australia.

Studio Portrait of Mary Ure, 1954

Bristol undergraduates Caitlin Lloyd, Alexandra Olczak and Rowan Pereira co-curated the exhibition Faces of the Theatre: Portrait Photography by Angus MacBean and John Vickers at the Bristol Theatre Collection (December 2013 - February 2014).Tasks included selecting, mounting and framing works, installing the display, and compiling a short catalogue. The exhibition was well received, with one visitor commenting that ‘this exhibition is a very high standard and in my opinion would not look out of place in the National Portrait Gallery.’ She also noted that she had talked to the student curators at the opening and that ‘their enthusiasm for this project and the Theatre Collection was obvious.’