Ey Up Shakespeare!

Showcasing the Archives of Northern Broadsides Theatre Company

To mark the publication of the archive catalogue of Northern Broadsides Theatre Company (collection ref. U DNBR), an exhibition of items from the collection is now on display in the Hull History Centre Local Studies Library.

Display cabinet in the library

The theatre company Northern Broadsides was founded in 1992 by Hull-born Barrie Rutter who became its first Artistic Director. The company is based at Dean Clough Mill, Halifax, and is famous for performing Shakespearean, classical works and new writing in a Northern Voice. The company is especially known for its Shakespearean productions, its first ever production being ‘Richard III’ with the titular king being portrayed with a strong northern accent. Other productions through the years have covered a wide variety of writers, genres and styles from Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘The Tempest’ and ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, to Ted Hughes’ ‘Alcestis’, Blake Morrison’s ‘The Cracked Pot’, Tony Harrison’s ‘The Mysteries’, and Alan Plater’s ‘Sweet William’. The company performs shows at their theatre in Halifax, on nationwide tours to local venues such as Hull Truck Theatre, and they have also performed internationally. 

The company’s archives, held by Hull University Archives at the Hull History Centre, contains a wealth of information relating to all the company’s productions from 1992 to 2018. There are production files relating to each individual production, with highlights amongst the records including wardrobe books, scripts and promotional material. Other material includes production correspondence, photographs, reviews, props lists, touring schedules, cast lists, rehearsal notes and prompt books. There are also administrative files within the collection containing press cuttings, Northern Broadsides publications, and general promotional material.

Page from the wardrobe book for 'Macbeth'

On display in our Library exhibition are a wardrobe book for a staging of ‘Macbeth’ (2002), which contains colourful draft costume designs with fabric samples, and a provocatively designed theatre programme for the play ‘Lisa’s Sex Strike’ (2007) by Blake Morrison. There are also production photographs for stagings of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ (2000) and ‘The Man with Two Gaffers’ (2006). Other items include an advertising poster for ‘1984’ by George Orwell and publicity material for a double-bill production of ‘Comedy of Errors’ by William Shakespeare and ‘Sweet William’ by Alan Plater.

Detail of one of the display cabinets

The Northern Broadsides archives is an ideal collection for anyone interested in studying local professional theatre companies or local actors, and compliments the University archives’ other drama collections, including those of local playwrights Alan Plater (ref. U DPR), John Godber (ref. U DJG), and Richard Bean (ref. U DRBE). We also have you covered if you’re interested in local theatre venues, actors and drama groups. Hull History Centre is home to a vast number of theatre programmes and playbills for local venues such as Hull New Theatre and its many predecessors. There are also collections dedicated to local theatre companies and drama groups including Humberside Theatre in Education (ref. U DHE) and Kingston upon Hull New Theatre Company (ref. C TFNT).

The catalogue for U DNBR can be found on our online catalogue.

For more information about our theatre and drama collections, please see our online guides:

Literature, poetry and drama

Literature, theatre and drama source guide (PDF)