Since 1936, Cambridge Arts Theatre has been bringing world class performing arts to the region. Our archive boasts a bounty of material - correspondence, reviews, photographs, autographs, and posters - providing an unprecedented insight into historic moments and dramatic firsts for the Theatre and the industry. The archive tells our story.
A digital catalogue of all material in the Cambridge Arts Theatre archive is available here. From 2024, the archive itself will be stored at the new V&A East Storehouse in Stratford's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
During our National Lottery-funded heritage project, 'Behind the Scenes', our staff and volunteers chose their favourite treasures from the archive. Take a look at what they picked below:
Photographs from the Marlowe Society's Production of Julius Caesar, 1952
Complaint Letter concerning Harold Pinter's 'The Birthday Party', 1958
Poster, Richard Alston Dance Company, 2004
Letters from the Censor to Theatre Manager Norman Higgins, 1943 & 1945
Judy Birdwood's Scrapbooks & Illustrations, 1937-1961
Press Cuttings Scrapbook, 1936-1962
Sheila Grundy's Autograph Book, 1939
The preservation and enrichment of our archive was made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players.
