This exhibition explores the collaboration, in 1930s London, between emigré architect and designer Marcel Breuer and three women theatre designers who practiced under the name of Motley.

9th July 2008 to 31st August 2008
Temporary exhibition space - Collaborators exhibition
Gallery 103
Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL

Museum opening hours:
10.00 to 17.45 daily
Entrance is free

Unfinished Histories, a project by In Tandem TC and Susan Croft, is an important new initiative to chronicle the history of the alternative theatre movement in Britain from 1968 through to the 1980s. Through a series of oral history recordings with some of the many individuals who took part, the project aims to create a detailed record of a hugely influential period, where theatre-makers experimented with new ways of creating work, took theatre to new audiences and challenged traditional images and roles in society.

Unfinished Histories has just celebrated the launch of its first series of fourteen interviews on audio and video DVD, recording the history of the women's theatre movement from the late 1960s to the 1980s. The DVDs will be available to hear and view at the National Sound Archive, V&A Theatre Collections and the Bristol University Theatre Collection. Drawing on series of extensive oral history interviews it begins to map a field as lively and controversial as the names of the companies who were part of it, from Sadista Sisters to Female Trouble, Mrs Worthington’s Daughters to Beryl and the Perils, all largely neglected by theatre history until now. Interviews bring to life vital moments in the history like the production of Jane Arden's "Vagina Rex and the Gas Oven" in 1969, demonstrations at the Miss World contest, or the Women's Festival at the Drill Hall in 1977, alongside political splits, struggles against censorship, celebrations, disputes, accounts of legendary, day-long collective meetings, van breakdowns in far-flung places, and of performances that changed lives.

A CD of extracts from the interviews is available from In Tandem TC for £10. This covers postage, packing and a £5 donation to the next phase of the project.

Order by email at: Inantc@aol.com
or by snail-mail to
In Tandem TC
41A Barnsbury St
LONDON N1 1PW
Tel/fax: 020 7359 7848.

In partnership with the Theatre Collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the SBTD is offering a range of practical workshops aimed at Key Stages 3 to Post 16 exploring the various processes involved in designing for Theatre:

1. The Design Process
2. Costume Design
3. Space and Place
4. Working with other Art forms
5. To Draw or not to Draw: Explore art work and images from the exhibition to explore 2D to 3D possibilities.

All the workshops are based on the Collaborators Exhibition currently on show in the Performance Galleries.

FOR FULL DETAILS, INCLUDING HOW TO BOOK, CLICK HERE

COLLABORATORS UK
DESIGN FOR PERFORMANCE 2003 - 2007

Victoria and Albert Museum (Galleries 103 and 106)
South Kensington, London
until 31st August 2008
http://www.vam.ac.uk/theatre

The exhibition is a collaboration by the Society of British Theatre Designers with the Victoria & Albert Museum. It showcases a vibrant collection of work by over 100 designers, many of whom were selected to represent the UK at the Prague Quadrennial International Exhibition of Theatre Design in June this year. The work was chosen from more than 230 designs in the vast national exhibition seen in Nottingham in January 2007.

Collaborators has visited Northern Stage, Space3, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and IMAG (Inverness Museum & Art Gallery) during the Highland 2007 Gailearaidh Festival.

The exhibition, now in the new Theatre Collections Galleries at the Victoria & Alberta Museum in London for a year-long residency, combines with more work from the original exhibition held at Nottingham Trent University.

The Collaborators exhibition is accompanied by a new full colour catalogue and a tailored education programme for schools and colleges, offering a unique resource for students, teachers and anyone interested in contemporary performance.

For information on the Collaborators Education Programme and other events:
Email: sbtd@ntu.ac.uk
Telephone: 0115 848 2832.


For details of the photographs hover your cursor over the picture.