Mercury Theatre's archives open to the public!

This week,  Mercury Theatre’s archives are open to the public as part of a temporary exhibition in the Digby Gallery, offering local residents the chance to glimpse into the history of their local theatre – perhaps for the first time. This exhibition is part of Mercury Voices, an exciting new project through which Essex residents can share their memories of the Theatre, enabling the theatre to create an online database where anyone can access textual, visual and oral materials relating to the Mercury’s history. The project is in partnership with Essex Records Office and Colchester Recalled, funded by Heritage Lottery Fund and Essex Heritage Trust.

An opportunity for the public to see objects in the Mercury Theatre’s collection for the first time, this inaugural exhibition will showcase the rich variety of artefacts, costumes and memorabilia in the Theatre’s collection. Throughout the exhibition there will be opportunities for people to get involved by sharing their memories of the Mercury Theatre, donating objects or volunteering.

An opportunity for the public to see objects in the Mercury Theatre’s collection for the first time, this inaugural exhibition will showcase the rich variety of artefacts, costumes and memorabilia in the Theatre’s collection.

Throughout the exhibition there will be opportunities for people to get involved by sharing their memories of the Mercury Theatre, donating objects or volunteering.

Supported by National Lottery players through funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), The Mercury Voices project aims to ensure that the organisation’s history is captured, can be shared for future generations, and creates a sense of inspiration, ownership and community cohesion.

Mercury Voices will gather the Theatre’s rich archival collection together for the first time, to create a comprehensive record, ensuring this history is not lost to future generations, and to actively engage members of the community in the Theatre’s history who would otherwise think history is ‘not really something for them’.

The archive will include programmes, news cuttings, set designs, scripts and other items of interest. Colchester Recalled will be supporting the project by developing a series of oral histories about the Theatre, from audience members, actors, staff and other members of the local community.

The documents and artefacts will be stored by our partners, Essex Records Office, and made available through a website. The Theatre’s staff and volunteers, with their newly acquired archiving skills, will continue to add to the archive as part of the Theatre’s day-to-day operations.

The source material from the archive will be made available through an interactive touring exhibition, talks and educational resources for schools. It will also be brought to life by a series of drama pieces devised by our Youth Theatre Company and performed as part of a series of events celebrating the archive and the Theatre’s enduring involvement in the local community.