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Curtain Raised on 160 Years of East End Theatre History

Wednesday 4 March 2009

From L to R, Roland Muldoon, co-founder of CAST, Senior lecturer in Performing Arts at UEL, Mark Hunter, Acting Vice-Chancellor of UEL, Professor Susan Price, Director of the Institute for Performing Arts Development at UEL Mark O'Thomas, Catherine Haill from the V & A Theatre Collections and Claire Hudson, also from the V & A Theatre Collections

The East London Theatre Archive (ELTA) will be free to access online for the first time today as part of a project spearheaded by UEL and funded by JISC, a joint committee of the UK further and higher education funding councils.

The Archive showcases genres that flourished in the East End including music hall, burlesque and alternative comedy, with materials dating back as far as 1827.

UEL together with its project partners has been carefully collating the materials for the ELTA project to ensure it reflects the history of East End theatre. The online database is free to access and will allow students, historians and theatre fans alike to delve into the rich history of the East End’s theatre scene.

The archive includes posters from events staged by political theatre company Cartoon Archetypical Slogan Theatre (CAST) at the Hackney Empire, documenting early gigs from the likes of Paul Merton, Julian Clary, Jo Brand and Steve Coogan. 19th century play texts, newspaper cuttings and play scripts are also featured.

Andrew McDonald, Director of Library and Learning Services at UEL and Project Director at ELTA said: “Despite often being in the shadow of its West End counterpart, East End theatre has made many influential contributions to the world of performing arts which are documented through the archive’s content. We have been able to preserve a valuable slice of cultural history so it can live on for years to come.”

ELTA’s material focuses on key East London venues including the Hackney Empire, Half Moon Young People’s Theatre, Hoxton Hall, Theatre Royal Stratford East and Wilton's Music Hall with over 10,000 items coming from the V&A Theatre Collections. Other resources include images of the theatres taken by photographer Jamie Lumley, plus articles and essays from theatre historian John Earl.

Celebrity Comedian Griff Rhys Jones, acting as Chairman of Hackney Empire’s Fundraising Appeal, said: “With JISC’s funding and the University of East London’s help, the East London Theatre Archive will allow easy access to the vibrant and exciting world of theatre so its colourful past can live on.”

Roland Muldoon co-founder of CAST who contributed to the archive said: “Political theatre goes out of date very quickly and people wanted to throw it out; I couldn’t do that so in the end I kept all the memorabilia and posters under my bed. Having it all brought back to life is wonderful.”

View the website at www.elta-project.org

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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