Welcome to your guide to Theatre & Acting resources.
The Library provides you with access to books, journals, newspapers, audio-visual content, and other specialist materials for Theatre & Acting.
Your module resource lists are a great starting place, but this guide will help you explore further...
Explore subject resources
Here are the resources that will help you with your Theatre or Acting research, as well as some tips on how and when to use them.
It's important to use a range of different types of resource in your research. This will enhance the research experience and improve the quality of your work.
Good For:
- an overview of a subject
- a starting point in your research
- dipping into chapters and sections.
Looking for ebooks or print books?
Use Library Search to find books on your topic.
Or browse the print collections using these book (Dewey) numbers:
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792 & 796 Theatre Studies
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792.0232 Theatre Production/Producers
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792.0233 Theatre Direction
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792.5 Theatre Directors
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792.025 Setting, lighting, scenery
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796.7-8 Setting, lighting, scenery
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792.028 Acting, improvising, gestures
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796.5 & 798.3 Acting, improvising, gestures
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792.028092 Actors
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792.7 Variety shows & theatrical dancing
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782.14 Musical plays
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808.2 Rhetoric of drama
Find out more about Books and eBooks.
They can be collections of articles, chapters, audio-visual material - sometimes with supplementary features and tools to support research in particular area.
Good for:
- Searching for more subject-focussed content (articles and other materials)
- Saving time and effort compared to searching Google
- Providing high quality, academic information
Check out the StudyHub for ways to Improve your Search.
The key digital collections for your subject area are listed here in Library Search.
There are also a wider range of interdisciplinary digital collections you can explore here.
Academic journals are often peer-reviewed - this is a stamp of quality research.
Check out the StudyHub for more about Journals and Journal Articles.
- the latest research on a topic
- highlighting the latest products, designers, makers & performers
Look in Library Search for details of electronic and print journals and to find to full-text articles on your topic.
The Library has an extensive range of physical music and sound recordings. You can browse or search these here.
The Library has a vinyl record player, which you can use to listen to records in the collection. You can also borrow external CD/ DVD drives to play CDs on your laptop. Please ask at The Compass desk if you would like further information.
These free to use resources may also be useful for your research:
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British Library Archival Sound Recordings Explore 21,000 selected recordings of music, spoken word and human and natural environments from the Archival Sound Recording service. Includes Oral history from British painters, sculptors, photographers and architects.
Allows listening and downloading for educational use.
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Moby Gratis Free to use music, by Moby, for independent, non-profit filmmakers & film students.
Video resources available from the Library include:
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Box of Broadcasts Off-air recording and broadcast media archive service. Box of Broadcasts is only available within the UK and the EU. Note: Box of Broadcasts is only available within the UK.
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Digital Theatre Plus Curated content includes classic, contemporary and international productions and resources.
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Theatre in Video More than 250 definitive performances of the world‘s leading plays, together with more than 100 film documentaries and streaming video -representing hundreds of leading playwrights, actors and directors.
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Bloomsbury Video Library (previously Artfilms) Thousands of films with top artists and independent film makers. Masterclasses, documentaries and interviews on DVD and streaming.
Don’t forget –the Library has an extensive range of physical film and video recordings. Use Video Search within Library Search to explore our collections or check out the Video, Image & Sound guide for more details.
These free to use resources may also be useful for your research:
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Arts on Film Archive Online access to a range of UK films on art incl. post-war art and documentary filmmaking.
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BFI.org Includes access to the BFI National Archives and the BFI Player
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British Pathé 3,500 hours of film from its digital archives covering news, sport, social history and entertainment from 1896 to 1970.
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Documentary Heaven Documentary Heaven -a website with documentaries from around the web, all in one place.
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UBUWEB: TV The first avantgarde-TV worldwide,
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Videvo Free HD video stock footage and motion graphics.
Good for:
- current information, especially from government or research institutions
- information from (and about) artists, performers or makers
There are no quality checks, other than the ones you do for yourself – so be critical!
Search the Library collections
For books, ebooks, journals, articles and much more...
Search Smarter
Resources to help you make the most of your searching.
Library Pathway
What you need to know about the library, for your first term and beyond!
Research & Finding Information
Step by step guide to finding and evaluating information
Referencing
Learn why and how to reference and cite correctly
Explore outside your box
Don't be limited to the resources recommended for your subject area - think creatively!
Listen to our librarians discuss the benefits of serendipity
