Nottingham's Theatre Royal was thrilled to receive a collection of memorabilia recently which includes newspaper cuttings, theatre posters and promotional materials dating back decades.
The items also have a special link to the Nottingham Post as they were donated by the family of Emrys Bryson, the Nottingham Post’s theatre critic for 38 years from 1954 to 1992.
Not only does the collection provide a nostalgic look back on years gone by for the theatre, it also brings to life the look and feel of the theatre before a major overhaul in the 70s, as it includes curtain and seat material.
Georgina Donohue, Heritage Officer at Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall Nottingham, expressed her gratitude and thanks for the donation.
She said: “This really is a treasure trove of newspaper cuttings, papers, theatre posters and publicity materials from a key mid-20th century period of our history.
"They are of immense interest to our work documenting and understanding the heritage of our venue.
“We were particularly fascinated to find a sample of curtain fringing, seat material and a seat number from before the major 1978 refurbishment of the Theatre Royal, when the interior was red instead of its current green and gold décor.”
Other items include a Cinderella poster and a large collection of Emrys Bryson's theatre review cuttings.
A volunteer from the venue’s heritage project will be assigned to catalogue these theatre materials, with a view to digitising as much as possible to be seen via the online archive at www.ourtheatreroyal.org.
Due to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the venue is now also beginning to look at the history of the Royal Concert Hall as it approaches its 40th anniversary in 2022, as well as strengthening its schools and outreach programmes.
Anyone with stories or artefacts to contribute to the Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall’s on-going archive project can contact georgina.donohue@nottinghamcity.gov.uk for further information.
