Unity Theatre archive
The archive of the Unity Theatre containing striking visual material
The Unity Theatre was formed in April 1937 as the Merseyside Left Theatre. The theatre's name changed to the Merseyside Unity Theatre in 1944, as part of a national movement of radical and experimental theatre, reflecting political and social issues. Now located on Hope Place, in a former synagogue and Jewish school, the theatre has expanded over time to accommodate larger professional touring companies, as well as continuing to support local talent. The name, the Unity Theatre, was used from the mid-1980s onwards. In 2004, the Unity Youth Theatre was established.
The Unity Theatre archive
The Unity Theatre archive also contains material relating to Productionline - the partnership between Liverpool Lunchtime Theatre, Unity Theatre and the Liverpool Everyman. Productionline aims to discover, develop, commission and produce new plays. The collection contains a wealth of publicity and promotional material including:
- posters
- leaflets
- flyers
- photographs
Items from this collection are frequently used for exhibitions, tours and events. A group of volunteers working on the George Garrett archive have also made use the Unity Theatre archive.
Work on this collection is ongoing. A box list of the collection is available from the LJMU Archivist.
The Merseyside Maritime Museum also holds material from Merseyside Unity Theatre up to 1987. Additions were made to this archive in 1991 and 1992.
