LibGuides: Special Collections: Drama, Music and Theatre History: Northcott Theatre

Introduction to the Northcott Theatre

The Northcott Theatre and Arts Centre was conceived of by G.V. Northcott after the demolition of Exeter’s Theatre Royal in 1962. The theatre opened with a production of The Merchant of Venice, starring Tony Church, its first Artistic Director, on 2nd November 1967. Very soon after the opening of the new theatre, the abolition of censorship on the stage in 1968 enabled more freedom of production and this was reflected in its artistic direction. Early directors, including Tony Church and his successor, Jane Howell, also fostered new talent in writing at the theatre in the late 1960s and early 1970s and this continued through to the 1980s. The theatre has also fostered its share of acting talent. In more recent years the theatre has faced many challenges, including cuts in the 1980s, and the threat of loss of funding from the Arts Council England (ACE) in 2007. At the threat of closure, an appeal and public campaign was launched to save the theatre and it received a funding reprieve from ACE for two years, in 2008. However, legacy financial accounting problems forced the trustees to place it into administration on 25 February 2010. On 5 June 2010 it was confirmed by administrators that a new company had been set up, the Exeter Northcott Theatre Company, formed with the University of Exeter, and the immediate future of the theatre is now more secure.

You can find out more about the collections relating to the Northcott Theatre held by Special Collections, which include the Northcott Theatre Archive, by browsing the boxes on this page.

The Northcott Theatre archive comprises operational and production records spanning the period from its opening in 1967 to its threatened closure in 2010. These include administrative, legal and operational records, information on the technical management of theatre productions, promotional literature and press coverage. There is also a collection of photographic records of productions and actors, along with records of film productions from the earlier Theatre Royal in Exeter.

Click here to find out more about this archive on the online archives catalogue

The Northcott Theatre Archive has great potential for interdisciplinary researchers, particularly touching on areas of history, drama, sociology and business. Some possible areas of interest to early career researchers are listed below, though the archive provides rich ground for many other areas of research.

Censorship in the Theatre - The first two years of the Northcott Theatre fell in the period before the abolition of the official censor. A small collection of scripts can be found in the collection bearing the Lord Chamberlain's licence, often contingent on specified corrections to the script to remove offensive phrases.Early show files also contain

Regional sensibilities in Theatre - As a small regional theatre the Northcott often faced push-back against new writers and productions that attempted to expand the boundaries of theatre. Correspondence, contracts and other materials show low take-up and canceled performances at touring venues as many small theatres self-censored productions that they felt did not fit their audiences regional sensibilities.

Set design and staging- The archive contains a large collection of set plans and designs for a wide range of productions, in addition to many annotated prompt books and some annotated scripts. Prompt books and show files may also contain small sketches, notes, contracts and other material related to staging and set design. These materials are a valuable resource to understand the vision behind different productions and the varying approaches that were taking by different directors to the same play.

Publicity and criticism - An expansive collection of posters, programmes and press cuttings forms the centre of the Northcott Theatre Archive. Differing approaches to the design of publicity material can be identified through the years, while albums of press cuttings show the changing representations of the Northcott Theatre in the press throughout it's lifetime and record critical opinion on many of its major productions.

Northcott Theatre Heritage Site

See items from our collections and learn more about the Northcott's history by visiting their Heritage Site

Nicholas Toyne: photographic archive of Northcott Theatre productions (EUL MS 383)

Personal collection of photographic slides, negatives and prints of the Northcott Theatre productions. Includes 17 boxes of negatives, a small collection of programmes, notebook, 3 reels of super8 film and a wooden box of colour slides. The photographs were taken by Nicholas Toyne in his role as Theatre Photographer for the Northcott Theatre.

Click here to find out more about this collection on the online archives catalogue

Northcott Theatre Recordings (EUL MS 468)

Large collection of (primarily) sound recordings of Northcott Theatre productions from 1968-1999. Originally given to the Exeter University AV department by the Northcott Theatre as part of a rolling programme for use by students. The collection also includes some ephemera relating to the theatre, such as posters, programmes and files identified as archive material.

Click here to find out more about this collection on the online archives catalogue

Northcott Theatre Programmes (EUL MS 384)

Collection of programmes and tickets from Northcott Theatre performances, acquired by member of the public Jean Goddard who attended the performances over a number of years. The date given for each performance is the date the performance was seen, where indicated, or the start of the production run.

Click here to find out more about this collection on the online archives catalogue

Marston Collection of Northcott Theatre Programmes (EUL MS 500)

Personal collection comprising c.100 programmes and flyers for events hosted by the Northcott Theatre and visiting companies. Includes items relating to the Exeter Festival.

Click here to find out more about this collection on the online archives catalogue