Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Joint Stock Theatre Group Archives
- Dates:
- 1973-1991
- Creators:
- Joint Stock Theatre Group
- Abstract:
- A British experimental theatre group founded in 1974 by Max Stafford-Clark, David Hare, and David Aukin, the Joint Stock Theatre Group was dedicated to developing new writing for the theatre. Workshops set up by William Gaskill and Max Stafford-Clark resulted in a unique working method which placed actors and director in collaboration with the playwright. The Archives contain business correspondence, financial records, legal documents, photographs, production files, promotional materials, and scripts (published and original prompt copies) of several plays.
- Extent:
- 26.6 linear feet
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Joint Stock Theatre Group Archives, D-035, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Organized into eight series: 1. Financial Records, 2. Photographs, 3. Production Files, 4. Scripts, 5. Clippings, 6. Promotional Materials, 7. Company Business, 8. Sound recordings.
- Biographical / historical:
-
A British experimental theatre group founded in 1974 by Max Stafford-Clark, David Hare, and David Aukin, the Joint Stock Theatre Group was dedicated to developing new writing for the theatre. Workshops set up by William Gaskill and Max Stafford-Clark resulted in a unique working method which placed actors and director in collaboration with the playwright.
In January of 1974, the Joint Stock Theatre Group presented its inaugural production, The Speakers,adapted by William Gaskill and Max Stafford-Clark from a book by Heathcote Williams. Major productions which followed included Cloud Nine,Epsom Downs,Fanshen,Fen,The Great Celestial Cow,The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist,and Sanctuary.The last of Joint Stock's productions, A Child in the Heartand Promised Landwere offered during the 1988-1989 season.
A revenue client of the Arts Council of Great Britain since 1974, Joint Stock relied heavily on government subsidy to remain financially solvent. Its demise was imminent when, due to general economic woes and changing government policy towards the arts, the company was dropped from the client list. Because the "Joint Stock Method" required an inordinate amount of time to mount a production thus limiting the number of productions annually, and because the company presented mainly new, unproven plays, Joint Stock could not survive financially without Arts Council support. In June of 1991, the Joint Stock Theatre Group Board of Directors gave instructions that the Companies House be informed that the company had ceased to exist and should be struck from the Register of Companies
- Acquisition information:
- Acquired in 1992 from the company's executor, Carl Proctor.
- Processing information:
-
Arranged and described by Levi Damon Phillips in October 1993. EAD finding aid created by Sara Gunasekara in March 2004. EAD finding aid updated by Liz Phillips in October 2020.
- Physical location:
- Researchers should contact Archives and Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2020-10-15 15:22:12 -0700 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Joint Stock Theatre Group Archives, D-035, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library100 NW QuadDavis, CA 95616-5292, US
- Contact:
- (530) 752-1621