Showing 4 results

Papers and books belonging to the theatre critic Sheridan Morley (1941-2007). Includes correspondence, records relating to his various productions, volumes of press coverings covering his reviews, research notes and transcripts of some of his publications, photographs, records relating to his father Robert Morley and Grandmother Gladys Cooper, records relating to Noel Coward, theatre memorabilia and ephemera and objects.

The David Heneker Archive contains the working papers of musical theatre composer David Heneker, who wrote or contributed to several well known musicals incluing 'Half a Sixpence' and 'Charlie Girl'. The Archive contains materials relating to each of the shows David Heneker worked on including drafts of songs and scripts, musicals scores, correspondence and publicity. There is also material relating to his work as a songwriter in the 1930s and 1940s (including the Second World War), and his work for films and advertising. There are also materials relating to shows and films that David Heneker worked on that never reached the final production stage.

Cary Ellison was a talent spotter who worked for Spotlight. As part of his work from 1953-1980 he went on twice yearly tours around repertory performances across the UK to locate the up and coming performers, directors and plays. The Cary Ellison Theatre Programme Collection consists of the theatre programmes collected by Cary Ellison on these trips, complete with his added notes on the actors, plays and directors he saw. He commented on a number of well known actors in the early stages of their careers, as well as offering his view on several well known plays.

Tony Arnell is a casting director, who worked for well known television companies including LWT. Prior to this he worked at Spotlight, alongside talent spotter Cary Ellison, to encourage actors and actresses to sign up to be included in the publication. Throughout his career, Mr Arnell visited theatre productions to spot actors to either encourage to join Spotlight, or that he might want to cast in the shows he was working on. The Tony Arnell Theatre Programme Collection consists of programmes for theatrical productions seen by Tony Arnell from 1960s- 1980s, with his notes inside detailing his thoughts on the cast, production and play. The programmes are predominantly for shows in the South-East of England, and also include annotated programmes for performances by Drama School and as part of the London Fringe Festival. The collection also includes some from programmes from the 1990s and 2000s, although these are not annotated.

Also included in the collection are items related to the '12' group- founded in 1958 by Cary Ellison as a gathering of casting directors, theatrical agents and other leading figures in the theatre industry. Tony Arnell took over as president in 1988 and continued to run the group until its closure in 2004. Items in the collection include a history of the group, and albums of photographs of 12 members taken at their annual garden parties from 1988 onwards.