Researching post-war British Shakespearean productions: A review of the Theatre Archive Project

Recent years have seen an impetus to collect and disseminate oral theatre criticism in Shakespeare studies, which is traditionally spontaneous and ephemeral. One manifestation of this is the Theatre Archive Project (TAP), which focuses on post-war Britain (1945–68). This article offers an overview of the TAP’s content in relation to professional Shakespeare productions. Moreover, it articulates some of the pleasures and challenges of using the TAP. Outlining these is intended to benefit researchers considering using the project’s materials but also the project itself as it continues to collect, digitize and share material.