Our friends over at The Gordon Craig Theatre have been busy keeping an archive of posters, programmes, photographs and all sorts of interesting things since the building opened in 1975. Locked away in a cupboard, it’s been almost entirely unexplored… until now!

Throughout 2019, with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we’re working with a team of volunteers to catalogue all these bits of theatrical history and to build a full record of performances that have ever taken place at the Gordon Craig. We’re digitising as much of the material as we can and we’ve made an online searchable database to allow the public to delve into the archive and explore the Theatre’s past.

We think a theatre is a very important building to have in a town: a place for enjoyment, edification and inspiration for all of the community. That’s why we want to hear more from the people who have walked through the doors of The Gordon Craig over the last 44 years. In 2019 and beyond, we want to make full use of the archive to help uncover the real stories of our theatre and to celebrate the role it has played in the lives of so many local people.

Lottery funds will also support a programme of reminiscence activities for those in the area living with dementia, encouraging the sharing of happy memories of performance and there's a public art commission responding to the project's activities.

View my website http://www.thegordoncraigtheatrearchive.org.uk/