| Reference Number | SMNT |
| Title | Shakespeare Memorial National Theatre Collection |
| Level | Fonds |
| Date | 1903-1971 |
| Description | The SMNT collection documents the history of the movement to found a National Theatre in London. The aims of the movement were fulfilled with the formation of the National Theatre Company in 1963 and the opening of the National Theatre building on the South Bank of the river Thames in 1976. The collection title is taken from the 'Shakespeare Memorial National Theatre Committee' which was formed in 1908 from the merger of the campaigns to found a national theatre and to erect a memorial to William Shakespeare in London.
A wide range of documents in the collection describe the shifts in public and private debate over subjects such as choice of repertoire for the theatre; performance and acting style; state assistance to the theatre; endowment; the management and organisation of the theatre; the relationship of the National Theatre with the provinces; the practical work of fundraising and lobbying for support for the project; the long search for an appropriate London site and suitable designs for a national theatre. Minutes for the meetings of the many SMNT committees comprise a great part of the collection and document internal and public debate on the subject of the need for a national theatre. Together with the minutes, the financial papers and legal records are the key sources neccessary for establishing a history of the movement.
Below is an overview of the topics documented in each series of the collection with notes on the range of materials and the originating committies:
- SMNT/1: Minutes and agenda for all the Committees associated with the SMNT movement, such as the Executive Committee and smaller committees appointed to work on specific tasks.
- SMNT/2: General correspondence. This includes correspondence between members of various SMNT Committees and includes debate about many aspects of the movement; arrangements for attendance at meetings; correspondence with the committee's lawyers and accountants and correspondence with external stakeholders.
- SMNT/3: The papers of the Joint Council of the National Theatre and the Old Vic, appointed in January 1946 from the boards of the Old Vic theatre and the SMNT Committee its purpose was to join the forces of these two boards to campaign for a national theatre. The papers document the relationship of the Joint Council with external stakeholders such as the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Arts Council of Great Britain and a number of issues faced by the Council such as the future role of the Old Vic in relation to the National Theatre and future state funding for theatre.
- SMNT/4: The internal business of the SMNT after the appointment of the Joint Council, including personal views of some of the Committee members and representation of the SMNT on the Joint Council; this series also documents the relationship of the SMNT with the Charity Commissioners and aspects of the management of the SMNT trust; the trust managed the funds raised towards the National Theatre project.
- SMNT/5 Documents the work of the Old Vic after the appointment of the Joint Council and covers areas such as management of the theatre, programming of the Old Vic season, work of the Old Vic Company, touring and the Young Vic.
- SMNT/6: Negotiations about securing of a site for the National Theatre on the South Bank of the Thames, inluding relations with the London County Council and negotiations on the design and siting of the theatre within the context of the general development of the South Bank area.
- SMNT/7: The public presence of the movement and promotional work. Includes press cuttings and records of events and initiatives organised to advertise and support the project. This series also includes material of literary interest such as the manuscripts of W. Somerset Maugham's plays.
- SMNT/8: Financial aspects of the movement, including accounts, income from fundraising and donations and records of loans and investments.
- SMNT/9: Legal records documenting agreements and other legal business in relation with the National Theatre project.
- SMNT/10: Hansard issues and other parliamentary publications featuring content relevant to the National Theatre project; this series also includes a copy of the National Theatre Act of 1949.
- SMNT/11: Plans, drawings and a small number of photographs for the proposed National Theatre; items in this series refer to different options for the design and siting of the theatre on the South Bank (1948-1961).
- SMNT/12: Fact-finding and research work performed by members of the SMNT and the Joint Council, to gather details of the building, architecture, technical aspects and management of major theatres in other countries to inform the planning of the National Theatre.
- SMNT/13: Administrative papers relating to the work of the SMNT and the Joint Council, covering items such as overheads and utilities payments and personnel matters.
- SMNT/14: The work of associations that were connected with the SMNT movement.
- SMNT/15: Medals issued to commemorate significant supporters of the SMNT (1916).
- SMNT/16: Material relating to the personal lives of members of the Shakespeare Memorial National Theatre Committee, or documenting their business in connection with other institutions.
Material in the collection covers the years 1903-1930 and early 1940s to the early 1970s. The period of the 1930s and early 1940s is scarcely documented in the collection. Some records are thought to have been destroyed during a fire at the offices of the British Drama League, where the papers were held, during the second world war. |
| Extent | 46 boxes, plus two plan chest drawers with oversize plans and drawings.
Average box dimension:
H. 26-29cm
W. 39.05 cm
D. 06.05-12 cm |
| Related Material | Below are a number of archival collections that are of related interest to the history of the Shakespeare Memorial National Theatre (all links working as on 25/06/2013).
The Papers of Alfred Lyttelton and Dame Edith Lyttelton, and their son Oliver Lyttelton (1st Viscount Chandos)
Churchill College Archives Centre, Cambridge
http://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/archives/collections/full.php#L
The papers of Clemens Richard Atlee (1883-1967), prime minister at the time when the National Theatre Act was passed
Churchill College Archives Centre, Cambridge
http://www.chu.cam.ac.uk/archives/collections/full.php#A
The William Archer Collection
Theatre & Performance Collections, Victoria & Albert Museum
http://archiveshub.ac.uk/data/gb71-thm/368?page=11#id947727
The Archive of the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association)
Birmingham University, Cadbury Research Library Special Collections
http://calmview.bham.ac.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=XYMCA&pos=5
Sadler’s Wells Theatre Archive
Islington Local History Centre
http://archiveshub.ac.uk/data/gb1032-s/swt?page=1#id1290842
The Archive of the London Old Vic Theatre
Bristol University Theatre Collections
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/theatrecollection/oldvic.html
A select bibliography:
'A National Theatre, Scheme and Estimates', by William Archer and Harley Granville-Barker
London: Duckworth & Co., 1907
'The Making of a National Theatre', by Geoffrey Whitworth
London: Faber and Faber, 1951
'William Archer: a Biography', by Peter Whitebrook
London: Methuen, 1993
'The Memoirs of Lord Chandos', by Oliver Lyttelton
London: Bodley, 1962
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