Inventory of the Joint Stock Theatre Group Archives, 1973-1991
Department of Special Collections
General Library
University of California, Davis
100 North West Quad
Davis, CA 95616-5292
Phone: (530) 752-1621
Fax: (530) 754-5758
Email: speccoll@lib.ucdavis.edu
2004
©2004
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Note
Inventory of the Joint Stock Theatre Group Archives, 1973-1991
D-035
Department of Special Collections
General Library
University of California, Davis
Davis, California
Contact Information
- Department of Special Collections
- General Library
- 100 North West Quad
- University of California, Davis
- Davis, CA 95616-5292
- Phone: (530) 752-1621
- Fax: (530) 754-5758
- Email: speccoll@lib.ucdavis.edu
- Processed by: Levi Damon Phillips in 1993. Encoded by: Sara Gunasekara in 2004.
- Completed: 2004
©2004 The Regents of the University of California
Descriptive Summary
Title: Joint Stock Theatre Group Archives,
Date (inclusive): 1973-1991
Collection number: D-035
Creator:
Joint Stock Theatre Group
Extent:
26.6 linear feet
Repository:
University of California, Davis. General Library. Dept. of Special Collections.
100 North West Quad
Davis, California, 95616-5292
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.
Physical location: Researchers should contact Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright is protected by the copyright law, chapter 17 of the U.S. Code. All 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 Special Collections, General Library, University of California, Davis as the owner of the physical items and 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, Department of Special Collections, University of California
Library, Davis, California.
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.
Administrative History
History
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 Heart and
Promised Land were 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
Scope and Content of Collection
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.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Joint Stock Theatre Group
Gaskill, William
Hare, David, 1947-
Stafford-Clark, Max
Experimental theater--Great Britain
English drama--20th century
Collection Contents
Box 1-11
Series 1
Financial Records, 1973-1990
Physical Description:
9.8 linear feet
Note
Scope and Content Note
Banking records (bank statements, correspondence, canceled checks, check stubs, deposit account books, deposit slips); budgets;
income records (account ledgers, balance sheets, box office returns, fundraising, grants income and expenditure accounts,
income ledgers, quarterly returns); expenditure records (bills paid, invoices, paid invoices, receipts and bills, remittance
advices, sales invoice books); tax records (income taxes, national insurance contributions and deductions, value added tax
invoices); production accounts; reports (reports of the directors; reports to the directors); working notes. Items such as
clippings, legal documents, programs, and weekly gig lists that were included with the financial records have been retained
with them.
Arranged chronologically.
Box 12-16
Series 2
Photographs, 1973-1988
Physical Description:
2.6 linear feet
Note
Scope and Content Note
Black and white prints, contact sheets, and negatives of portrait, group, rehearsal, and production photographs.
Arranged alphabetically by play title.
Box 17-24, 30
Series 3
Production Files, 1974-1989
Physical Description:
7.8 linear feet
Note
Scope and Content Note
Accommodations lists, actors biographies, cast lists, budgets and budget proposals, contact lists, correspondence (booking
arrangements), costumes, drawings (theatre layouts, lighting plots), box office returns, ticket sales reports, grant applications,
itineraries, legal records, promotional materials (flyers, press lists, programs), props lists, technical specifications,
working notes.
Arranged alphabetically by play title.
Box 24
Series 4
Scripts, 1977-1986
Physical Description:
0.5 linear feet
Note
Scope and Content Note
Published editions and "manuscript prompt" copies.
Arranged alphabetically by play title.
Box 25-26
Series 5
Clippings, 1974-1988
Physical Description:
1.3 linear feet
Note
Scope and Content Note
Primarily previews and reviews relating to Joint Stock Theatre Group productions, but also includes "general" clippings files
relating to alternative (fringe) theatres and individuals associated with them.
Arranged chronologically.
Box 26, 28-29
Series 6
Promotional Materials, 1975-1988
Physical Description:
0.5 linear feet
Note
Scope and Content Note
Correspondence, flyers, postcards, posters, programs, program copy, press releases, serials.
Arranged alphabetically by play title.
Box 26-27
Series 7
Company Business, 1973-1991
Physical Description:
1.5 linear feet
Note
Scope and Content Note
Audience surveys, company documentation, general correspondence, legal records, mailing lists, marketing, membership, memorandum
and articles of association, minutes (policy committee, annual general meeting, meeting of the council of management, report
of the council, board meeting, directors meeting, extraordinary meeting).
Arranged chronologically.
Box 31-32
Series 8
Sound recordings, 1981-1985
Physical Description:
2.75 linear feet
Note
Scope and Content Note
Magnetic tape (cassette and reel-to-reel) of plays performed by the Joint Stock Theatre Group: music and sound effects, rehearsal,
preshow, and performance. Audiocassette use copies of the sound recordings have been made and are located in Box 32.
Arranged alphabetically by play title.
