Month: September 2024

New Theatre Department course – Researching the Bristol Old Vic Young Company

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By Dr Jan Wozniak, Senior Lecturer, Department of Theatre, University of Bristol.

 

What do you remember about Youth Theatre?

Did you attend theatre sessions at Bristol Old Vic when you were younger? Or did you run sessions as a practitioner? Do you know anyone who did?

Bristol Old Vic Young Company is 30 years old this year! As part of the celebrations, we want to hear from anyone who has had any involvement with the Young Company since 1994.

This autumn, I will be working with around 25 final year undergraduate students, Lucy Hunt from the Bristol Old Vic and colleagues in the Theatre Collection to build an oral history of the Young Company. We’ll be exploring the Young Company holdings in the Bristol Old Vic Archive at the Theatre Collection and sharing our findings here.

Third year students in the Theatre Collection at the start of the unit, 25 September 2024.

We’ll then be interviewing former participants of the Young Company to hear what they remember about their time at Bristol Old Vic and whether this experience still plays a part in their lives today. We’ll make an initial analysis of these interviews, which will then be made available in the Theatre Collection for future researchers.

“All art is quite useless” Oscar Wilde

Do you agree with Wilde? Or do you think that art is important for all?

Theatre for and by young people is rightly valued by those involved. But it’s difficult to prove! And how long does that value last? With a renewed interest in the value of art and culture in the new government, this is a great time to conduct research I have wanted to do for a long time.

I became aware of the great work done by the Young Company through my daughter’s involvement around 2010-2012. And the Young Company has a great track record in producing a great range of theatre makers, not least the Wardrobe Ensemble.

Not just luvvies!

We’ll be hoping to interview the Wardrobe Ensemble, and other theatre makers, to find out how their time in the Young Company has influenced their work. But it’s not just those who have gone on to work in theatre or the arts that we are interested in – we want to hear from YOU!

We’re really keen to hear from anyone who was in the Young Company and to find out what effect it had for you in the long-term. Do you remember particular productions? Did it give you the confidence to try things later in life? Did you hate it so much, you swore never to inflict extra-curricular theatre activities on your own kids!? We want to hear from anyone, whatever their memories.

If you’re interested, you could fill out this form

It’s not ALL hard work

Students will be working hard exploring the archives, interviewing and writing blog posts over the coming weeks to chart the project, so do check back in!

But we’re hoping they will also have fun at a couple of events we’re planning.

Firstly, there will be a public access event in the Theatre Collection where you’ll be able to see some of the Young Company records, that we’ve been exploring.

There will also be a celebration event at the Bristol Old Vic. We will confirm dates of both of these soon, so keep your eyes peeled

And do get in touch with us if you have your own memorabilia you’d like to share – we’d love to hear from you!

The Liberation of France: 80 Years of objets de mémoire

Posted on by theatrecollection

With thanks to Arts Matter for their consent to republish piece first posted in August 2024.

By Damien McManus, Professor Martin Hurcombe, Dr Charlotte Faucher, Dr Federico Testa, Louisiane Bigot 

August 2024 marks 80 years since the liberation of Paris from Nazi occupation in the summer of 1944, a decisive and highly symbolic moment in World War II. In celebration, the School of Modern Languages and Library Services, with support from the University’s Theatre Collection, the French Government’s Mission Libération, and AUPHF+, held an event in June to commemorate the D-Day landings and the importance of objets de mémoire (objects of memory) as powerful reminders of the struggle against oppression.

French Forces of the Interior (FFI) barricade, the liberation of Paris, World War II, 1944.
French Forces of the Interior (FFI) barricade, the liberation of Paris, World War II, 1944.

This event was held to mark the 80th anniversary of Operation Overlord, the landings in Normandy which took place in June 1944, and the subsequent liberation of France that year. Supported by the French Government’s Mission Libération, it comprised an exhibition of photographic images and original documents selected from the University Library and the Theatre Collection; and a series of short presentations and discussions around the intellectual and cultural context and legacy of resistance to the Nazi occupation of France 1940-44. Material for the exhibition was chosen from two areas of the collections: the University of Westminster War and Culture Studies Archive which is now housed at the University’s Library Services, and the Irving Family Archive, located in the Theatre Collection, also at Bristol.

A number of themes provided the focus of the exhibition and traced aspects of the French experience of the war. The first of these reflected attempts to bolster morale during the early days of the Occupation and included representations of life for French people in exile in the UK. Others reflected how keenly the French in exile in the UK anticipated Liberation, before the exhibition moved on to the aftermath of the Normandy landings, and the gradual lifting of the Nazi Occupation.

A major source for texts and images around these themes was La France libre [Free France], which was published first in London, then Paris, from November 1940 to December 1946, and which sought to fight against the acceptance of defeat, and advocate resistance and the restoration of freedom to France. Among the writings and images selected were satirical pieces depicting occupying forces as brutal simpletons in contrast to the more erudite French population; and intriguing adverts for a range of products from quintessentially French brands such as Michelin tyres to less well known and possibly more controversial items, to the French at least, such as Marmite. Photographs taken on the day of the liberation of Paris and of celebrating civilians in Normandy and the capital served to remind viewers of the relief felt at the end of the Occupation.

Image courtesy of the Irving Family Archive. Courseulles-sur-Mer is a coastal town in Normandy, known for its proximity to Juno Beach, one of the D-Day landing sites during World War II.
Image courtesy of the Irving Family Archive. Courseulles-sur-Mer is a coastal town in Normandy, known for its proximity to Juno Beach, one of the D-Day landing sites during World War II.

The Irving Family Archive provided some fascinating images of the planning and execution of the landings at Normandy. Laurence Irving, a prominent Hollywood set designer and Intelligence Officer with the Royal Air Force, specialised in the analysis of low-level reconnaissance photographs, some of which were displayed, marked up with vital information about coastal defences. Other images provided impressions of the destructiveness of war and powerful portraits of captured German equipment and vehicles.

Presentations and a panel discussion rounded off the day’s proceedings. Dr Federico Testa provided an account of the tensions between the ideas of pacifism and justice, and in particular the moral and ethical dilemmas facing the French during World War II. Professor Martin Hurcombe spoke about Les Amants d’Avignon (The Lovers of Avignon] written by Elsa Triolet and published clandestinely under the pseudonym of Laurent Daniel, and focused on the roles of women in the Resistance, which have very often been overlooked. Dr Charlotte Faucher framed her talk around a photograph of Résistantes from the BBC Yearbook 1945, taken when the impression among some British people was of well-fed French civilians at a time of rationing in the UK, and outlined her interviews with former female resistance fighters who firmly countered that view. Lastly, Professor Debra Kelly (emerita, University of Westminster, who kindly organised the donation of the War and Culture Studies Archive) discussed the 1946 novel, Siege of London written by (Mrs)Robert Henrey (sic), real name Madeleine Gall, a member of the French community in London.

Professor Martin Hurcombe provides historical context to visitors at the exhibition.
Professor Martin Hurcombe provides historical context to visitors at the exhibition.

This was a hugely enjoyable exhibition to organise, and the presentations and discussions were fascinating, enlightening and full of debate. Perhaps the most rewarding aspect was the range of people who came to see the exhibition and to attend the discussions, from members of the public to groups of sixth formers from Bristol and Cardiff who were evidently very engaged with the collections, especially as they were directly connected to their A-Level studies.

With thanks to Damien McManus, Library Services, Professor Martin Hurcombe, Dr Charlotte Faucher and Dr Federico Testa in the Department of French, and PhD candidate Louisiane Bigot in the School of Modern Languages. To find out more about the University of Westminster War and Culture Studies Archive, visit Library Services. To find out more about the Irving Family Archive, visit the Theatre Collection.